The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce (CCC) and the Ministry of Environment piloted the ‘Collect-Back Plastic Waste Management Model,’ a groundbreaking initiative aimed at addressing Sri Lanka’s escalating plastic waste challenge.
The model, based on Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), holds all stakeholders responsible for recycling and minimising plastic packaging. The project, funded by USAID’s Clean Cities Blue Ocean program, received widespread support from the private sector, with over 90 percent of respondents willing to commit voluntarily to the ‘Mandatory Reporting and Collect-Back (MRCB) Model’.
The project set up two private sector-led consortia for PET and HIPS plastics, comprising 43 companies, and successfully streamlined plastic waste collection through Material Recovery Facilities (MRFS).
The Plastic Waste Collection Framework facilitated increased collection, and a Pricing Analysis of Post-Consumer Plastics established a standard pricing mechanism, incentivising collectors and recyclers.
The pilot testing phase, focusing on PET and HIPS plastics, yielded promising results, with several companies already submitting significant amounts of plastic waste through the online reporting portal.
This collaborative effort between the private sector, public sector, and development partners proves to be a significant step forward in sustainable plastic waste management. While summarising the project’s success at an event held at Cinnamon Grand on Tuesday, CCC’s chief economist, Shiran Fernando said the essence of the Collect-Back program was that it brought together private sector, public sector and a development partner; setting the par for other projects to follow in the future.