When EcoNova Polymers Pvt. Ltd., a mid-sized packaging company from Pune, decided to set up its own plastic recycling plant, the founders were confident. They had land, machinery quotations, and investors ready. But within weeks, everything stalled.
Their bank asked for CTE and CTO from the State Pollution Control Board. A local inspector demanded a Factory Licence. Their EPR consultant insisted on PWP registration on the CPCB portal.
Three different lists of requirements. Zero clarity.
Their project didn’t fail because of money or technology — it struggled because no one explained the actual licenses required for a plastic recycling plant in one place.
This guide does exactly that.
India generates millions of tonnes of plastic waste every year, and recycling is a priority sector. But it’s also regulated more strictly than ever. Licences matter because:
In short: your licences decide whether your recycling business is legiimate, fundable, and scalable.
A quick look at the rising waste volumes explains why compliance is taken so seriously:
| Year | Plastic Waste Generated (TPA) | Trend |
|---|---|---|
| 2016–17 | ~1.57 million | Baseline reporting years |
| 2017–18 | ~0.66 million | Under-reporting issues |
| 2018–19 | ~3.36 million | Reporting improved |
| 2019–20 | ~3.47 million | India crosses 3.4M TPA |
| 2020–21 | ~4.12 million | Continues to rise |
Business insight: Regulators want only capable, compliant facilities running. This is why licensing is strict.
To keep things simple, think of compliance in three buckets:
Let’s break them down.
Every recycling plant must obtain:
These are mandatory under the Water Act 1974 and Air Act 1981.
CTE and CTO determine whether you can even legally build and run your unit. Without them:
Business tip: Your declared capacity here must match what you later declare on the CPCB EPR portal.
After obtaining SPCB NOCs, a recycling plant must register as a Plastic Waste Processor (PWP) to legally issue EPR certificates.
This registration is done online on the CPCB Plastic EPR Portal and processed by your State Pollution Control Board.
Without PWP registration:
A recycler in Haryana installed a 6,000 TPA washing and granulation line but ignored PWP registration. He could still sell granules, but major brands refused to buy from him because his processed waste couldn’t be counted towards their EPR targets.
He lost high-margin clients simply due to missing one licence.
Apart from environmental and EPR approvals, your plant also needs standard industrial licences.
Under the Factories Act, 1948, if your plant uses power and employs a threshold number of workers, you must obtain a Factory Licence from the State Factory Department.
This covers:
Your fire department will check:
This is often mandatory before occupancy.
Issued by your municipal authority, required for commercial operations.
Usually:
Compliance affects:
A simple summary of all licences required for a plastic recycling plant:
| Licence | Authority | When Required | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| CTE | SPCB/PCC | Before construction | Mandatory NOC |
| CTO | SPCB/PCC | Before operations | Must match plant capacity |
| PWP Registration | SPCB/PCC via CPCB Portal | Before selling to PIBOs | Needed to issue EPR certificates |
| Factory Licence | State Factories Dept. | After setup | Covers safety & manpower |
| Fire NOC | Local fire dept. | Before occupancy | Essential for insurance |
| Trade Licence | Municipality | Before business | Routine compliance |
| GST, PAN, IEC | GST & MCA | Before billing/import-export | Standard business norms |
If any licence is missing or outdated, the risks include:
A recycler in Madhya Pradesh missed renewing his CTO. An unplanned SPCB inspection stopped all operations for 20 days. During that period, three major clients moved their waste to another recycler.
The financial loss far exceeded what a timely renewal would have cost.
If you’re planning to set up a plastic recycling plant, the right licences will save you months of delay, prevent legal complications and help you build trust with high-value clients.
The three most important licences required for a plastic recycling plant are:
When done early and correctly, these approvals turn your plant into a legitimate, bankable and EPR-ready business.
If you want guidance on mapping this for your own project, we can help.
📞 +91 78350 06182 | 📧 wecare@greenpermits.in
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The core licenses include CTE and CTO from the State Pollution Control Board, Plastic Waste Processor (PWP) registration for EPR compliance, and Factory Licence, Fire NOC, Trade Licence, GST registration, and basic company incorporation documents.
The SPCB NOC, which includes Consent to Establish (CTE) and Consent to Operate (CTO), ensures your facility meets environmental and pollution-control standards. Without these approvals, construction and operations are not legally permitted.
PWP (Plastic Waste Processor) registration is done on the CPCB Plastic EPR Portal, allowing recyclers to legally process plastic waste and issue EPR certificates to brands (PIBOs). Without PWP registration, companies cannot participate in the EPR system.
You may operate with only SPCB permissions, but you cannot issue EPR certificates, meaning big brands and PIBOs will not work with you. This significantly limits revenue and business growth.
If your plant meets manpower and power-load thresholds, you must obtain a Factory Licence under the Factories Act, 1948. Most medium and large recycling units fall under this requirement.
