Won’t find single use plastic from July 1
As of July 1, the Centre has banned the use of ‘single-use plastic’. As announced by a gazette notification last year, the Ministry for Environment, Forest and Climate Change has now defined a list of items that will be banned from next month.
Manufacturing, importing, stocking, distributing, selling, and using the following single-use plastics, including polystyrene and expanded polystyrene, shall be prohibited from 1st July, 2022, according to the Ministry notification.
But when we say single use plastic what does it actually mean? The term refers to items made of plastic that are used once and thrown away. It is the most prevalent type of plastic manufactured and used – from packaging, to bottles (shampoo, detergents, cosmetics), to polythene bags, face masks, coffee cups, cling film, trash bags, food packaging, etc.
The Minderoo Foundation, an Australian philanthropic organization, reported in 2021 that single-use plastics accounted for a third of all plastic produced globally, with 98% of that plastic made from fossil fuels. The report said single-use plastic accounts for the majority of plastic discarded – 130 million metric tons globally in 2019 – “all of which is burned, buried in landfills, or discarded into the environment”.
It has been estimated that single-use plastic could account for 5-10% of greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, based on the current trajectory of production.
India ranked 94 among the top 100 countries for single-use plastic waste generation, followed by Singapore, Australia, and Oman. With domestic production of 11.8 million metric tonnes and import of 2.9 MMT, India’s net generation of single-use plastic waste is 5.6 MMT, with per capita generation being 4 kg.
Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) announced a ban on the following items: earbuds; balloon sticks; candy and ice cream sticks; cutlery items such as plates, cups, glasses, forks, spoons, knives, trays; sweet boxes; invitation cards; cigarette packs; PVC banners measuring under 100 microns; and polystyrene for decorations.
In September 2021, the Ministry banned polythene bags under 75 microns, expanding the limit from 50 microns previously. Polythene bags with a micron thickness of less than 120 microns will also be banned from December. The ban is being phased in over time so that manufacturers can switch to thicker polythene bags that can be recycled easily. It is possible to use the same machine to manufacture 50- and 75-micron bags, but 120-micron bags require upgrading the machinery.
According to the Plastic Waste Management Rules, 2016, it is also prohibited to use plastic material to store, pack or sell gutkha, tobacco, and pan masala in sachets.
Ministry officials indicate that the choice of the first set of single-use plastics for the ban was based on “difficulty of collection and recycling”.
The enemy is not the fact that plastic exists, but that it exists in the environment. Microplastics are formed when plastic remains in the environment for a long period of time without decomposing – first entering our food supplies, then entering our bodies, which is extremely harmful. We chose these items because they are difficult to collect, especially since many are small, or are discarded directly into the environment, like ice-cream sticks. As a result, it becomes difficult to collect them for recycling, unlike much larger items,” said a Ministry official.
According to Satish Sinha of the environmental group Toxic Links, the items chosen are “low-hanging fruit”. In the single-use plastic industry, the production and sale of these items is very small. 95% of all single-use plastic comes from packaging – from toothpaste to shaving cream to frozen foods. Due to their low value and low turnover, the selected items are unlikely to have a big economic impact, which could be contributing to their selection. Having said that, we do have to start somewhere, and this is a beginning,” Sinha said.
During the ban, the CPCB will monitor the situation from the Centre, and the State Pollution Control Boards (SPCBs) will report to the Centre regularly. The directive has been issued at the national, state and local levels to all petrochemical industries not to supply raw materials to industries involved in the prohibited items.
A number of SPCBs and Pollution Control Committees have been directed to modify or revoke permits issued under the Air/Water Act to industries using single-use plastic products. Local authorities have been instructed to issue fresh commercial licenses with the condition that SUP items cannot be sold on premises, and existing licenses will be cancelled if SUP items are found to be sold there.
The CPCB issued certificates to 200 manufacturers of compostable plastics last week, and the BIS approved standards for biodegradable plastics. Those found in violation can be punished under the Environment Protection Act 1986 – which allows imprisonment for up to 5 years, or a fine of up to Rs 1 lakh, or both.
The SPCB can also ask violators to pay Environmental Damage Compensation. Moreover, there are local laws on plastic waste, which have their own penal codes.
India is not the only nation that is dealing with the plastic pollution but this is one of the global problem and many other nations are trying to deal with this pollution in the best way they can as we humans have created an environment that has a huge role of plastic in it but now the enovirnoment needs to be cleaned to make the cycle balanced. But when we talk about other nations how are they dealing with the problem?
As part of the United Nations Environment Assembly earlier this year, 124 countries, including India, signed a resolution to prepare an agreement that will in future make it legally binding for signatories to address plastic pollution from production to disposal throughout the entire lifecycle.
In 2002, Bangladesh became the first country to ban thin plastic bags. In July 2019, New Zealand became the latest country to ban plastic bags. The Chinese ban on plastic bags was implemented gradually in 2020.
68 countries have bans on plastic bags with varying degrees of enforcement as of July 2019.
Since 2014, eight states in the US have banned single-use plastic bags, starting with California. In 2018, Seattle became the first major US city to ban plastic straws.
In the European Union (EU), the Single-Use Plastics Directive took effect on July 2, 2021. The directive bans the use of certain single-use plastics for which alternatives are available; single-use plastic plates, cutlery, straws, balloon sticks, and cotton buds cannot be sold in the EU. As with cups, food and beverage containers made of expanded polystyrene, and all products made from oxo-degradable plastic, the measure applies.
The Seychelles and Vanuatu have banned plastic straws outright.
edited and proofread by nikita sharma
