The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) has imposed a hefty fine of around Rs 72 crore on Coke, Pepsi and Bisleri. This penalty has been imposed for not providing information about disposal and collection of plastic waste to the government body. Bisleri has been fined Rs 10.75 crore, PepsiCo India Rs 8.7 crore and Coca Cola Beverages Rs 50.66 crore. A penalty of Rs 1 crore has been imposed on Baba Ramdev’s Patanjali.
CPCB has said that all these will have to pay the fine in 15 days. In the case of plastic waste, Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) is a policy measure based on which companies manufacturing plastics have to take responsibility for disposing of the product.
Bisleri waste 21 thousand 500 tons in 9 months
Bisleri’s plastic waste has been around 21 thousand 500 tons. It has been fined Rs 5000 per tonne. Pepsi has 11,194 tonnes of plastic waste. Coca-Cola had 4,417 tonnes of plastic waste. This waste was from January to September 2020. The target of EPR was 1 lakh 5 thousand 744 tons of waste.
Coke and PepsiCo are reviewing order
A Coke’s spokesperson said, “We have received notice from CPCB. We run our operations with complete compliance. We operate under regulatory framework and laws. We are reviewing this order and will try to resolve it with the concerned authority.”
PepsiCo said that we follow the entire process under EPR in the case of plastic waste. We have received notice. PepsiCo and Coca-Cola make cold drinks, while Bisleri trades bottled water. All these plastics fall in the waste segment.