With funding from the Clean Cities Blue Oceans (CCBO) initiative of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce (CCC) and Biodiversity Sri Lanka (BSL) developed an Online Plastic Waste Reporting Portal for Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) Obligatory Companies. On June 16, 2022, the Project officially inaugurated the EPR system for the environmentally responsible management of plastic waste. To access the online portal, visit www.epr.lk. The platform was developed by Virtusa Pvt Ltd., on which the private sector will commence reporting on waste collection and recycling.
The initiative aims to increase plastic waste collection and recycling to minimize plastic pollution at the national level. The Online reporting portal has been endorsed by the Ministry of Environment (MoE) and the Central Environmental Authority (CEA) and welcomed by the private sector.
As suggested by PET and HIPS Consortia Members, the CCC and BSL are now in the process of handing over management and monitoring of the Online Reporting System to the CEA. With this transfer, EPR-Obligatory firms are expected to use the system to submit information on their plastic waste usage and collect-back accomplishments to CEA. In this regard, the Project had several meetings with the Senior Management Team of CEA. Following these negotiations, CEA confirmed that they are prepared to manage the online reporting system’s backend. Furthermore, they reaffirmed their utmost collaboration and support to the Project. In order to formalize the engagement an MoU between the CCC and the CEA will cement the relationship between the parties.
Launch of the online reporting system
The Project conducted a training program for selected employees of CEA and provided them with the necessary equipment to handle the online portal. The CEA will soon convene a meeting with the PET and HIPS Consortia Members at which the brand owners would be informed that CEA has taken over the responsibility of managing the Online Reporting System. They will be requested to report on manufacturing and collection figures from January 2022 onwards into the Portal. It has been agreed that a three-month pilot run of the system would help uncover problems and the adjustments that may be required to be made.
