Parliament Question: Odisha as a project location for circular economy for chemical and fertilizer plants

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF CHEMICALS AND FERTILIZERS DEPARTMENT OF CHEMICALS AND PETROCHEMICALS RAJYA SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION No. 1138 ANSWERED ON - 10/02/2026 ODISHA AS A PROJECT LOCATION FOR CIRCULAR ECONOMY FOR CHEMICAL AND FERTILIZER PLANTS 1138. SMT. SULATA DEO: Will the Minister of CHEMICALS AND FERTILIZERS be pleased to state: (a) whether the Ministry proposes Odisha as a pilot project location for circular economy initiatives in chemical and fertilizer plants, including waste recycling and resource recovery; and (b) if so, the details thereof and, if not, the reasons therefor? ANSWER THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF CHEMICALS AND FERTILIZERS (SMT. ANUPRIYA PATEL) (a) and (b) Various measures have been taken up by Govt. of India for promotion of circular economy and waste recovery, which are applicable to the whole of India including the State of Odisha. The details are as under: (i) Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has notified regulations on market based Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) / Extended Bulk Generator Responsibility (EBGR) framework to incorporate circular economy in respect of following categories of wastes: a. plastic packaging waste in February, 2022 b. battery waste in August, 2022 c. e-waste in November, 2022 d. waste tyres in July, 2022 e. used oil in September, 2023f. end-of-life vehicles in January, 2025 g. construction and demolition waste in April, 2025 h. scrap of non-ferrous metals in July, 2025 i. solid waste in January, 2026 Through the EPR regulations, the producers, importers or brand owners (PIBOs)/ Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) who introduce the product in the market are obligated for its environmentally sound management after end-of-life of such products and are mandated to meet the EPR targets of the end-of-life products. Recyclers have been mandated to generate EPR certificates after recycling/ scrapping of end-of-life products. Producers/OEMs can meet the EPR targets by setting up of recycling facilities themselves. Alternatively, producers/OEMs may purchase the EPR certificates generated by the recyclers to meet the EPR obligations. Market-based EPR mechanism incentivises the recyclers by earning additional revenues through sale of EPR certificates to the producers which is over and above the revenue generated from the sale of recycled materials. (ii) The Ministry of Environment Forest & Climate Change has also notified Hazardous and Other Wastes (Management and Transboundary Movement) Rules, 2016 (HOWM Rules, 2016) under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 for safe handling and management of hazardous wastes in an environmentally sound manner without causing adverse effects to environment and human health. The said Rules promote adoption of various steps under waste management hierarchy i.e. prevention; minimization; reuse; recycling; recovery, utilization including co-processing and safe disposal. Under these Rules, Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) are formulated upon industry request for utilizing hazardous waste generated by one unit as a raw material in another unit's process. This mechanism ensures safe inter-industry waste reuse after verifying environmental compliance facilitating circular economy. Ministry of Environment Forest & Climate Change has developed 127 Standard Operating Procedures (SoPs) for utilization of 87 categories of hazardous waste. *****