The Ministry for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, in August 2021, issued a gazette notification announcing the ban on ‘single-use plastic’. It came into effect from July 1, 2022. The government has now defined a list of items that would be banned. The Ministry of Environment has stated that national and state-level control rooms would be set up to check illegal manufacture, import, stocking, distribution, sale, and use of banned single-use plastic items. The Plastic and Waste Management Amendment Rules, 2021, also prohibit manufacture, import, stocking, distribution, sale, and use of plastic carry bags having thickness less than 120 microns with effect from December 31, 2022.
Single-Use Plastic
Single-use plastic refers to plastic items that are used once and discarded. It is defined by the centre as an object made of plastic that is intended to be used ‘only once’ before being disposed off or recycled. There is a list of 21 items that come under the definition of ‘single-use plastic’ as these items have ‘low utility and high littering potential’. These include ear buds with plastic sticks, plastic sticks for balloons, plastic flags, candy sticks, ice-cream sticks, thermocol for decoration, plates, cups, glasses, cutlery such as forks, spoons, knives, straw, trays, wrapping or packing films around sweet boxes, invitation cards, cigarette packets, plastic or PVC banners measuring less than 100 microns, and stirrers used for stirring drinks.
According to a report in 2021 by an Australian philanthropic organisation, the Minderoo Foundation, single-use plastics account for a third of all plastic produced globally. About 98 per cent of these items are manufactured from fossil fuels. In 2019, single-use plastic accounted for about 130 million metric tonnes (MMT) globally, which is the majority of plastic discarded. These were burned, buried in landfills, or discarded directly into the environment, after use.
State of Single-Use Plastic in India
The Minderoo Foundation Report also stated that India featured in the top 100 countries of single-use plastic waste generation, rank at 94. India produces about 11.8 MMT of single-use plastic products and imports about 2.9 MMT of annually. India’s net generation of single-use plastic waste is 5.6 MMT per year and per capita generation of single-use plastic is 4 kg.
Plastic packaging waste is a major contributor to the much larger problem of plastic waste pollution. Yet, it has not been covered under the phase-out of single-use plastic items. Also, mineral water bottles or plastic bottles of aerated drinks are not presently covered under the ban, though they are also a representative of ‘plastic pollution’. At this pace, it has been projected that single-use plastic could account for 5 to 10 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
The environment ministry had already banned polythene bags under 75 microns in September 2021, expanding the limit from the earlier 50 microns. From December 2022, the ban would be extended to polythene bags under 120 microns. The environment ministry has been introducing the ban in phases in order to give the manufacturers time to shift to thicker polythene bags that would be easy to recycle.
There is a ban on sachets using plastic material used for storing, packing or selling gutkha, tobacco, and pan masala. Since October 2021, there has been a ban on the manufacture, import, stocking, distribution, sale, and use of carry bags made of virgin or recycled plastic less than 75 microns, as opposed to 50 microns under the earlier version of the rules. At the fourth United Nations Environment Assembly in 2019, India had piloted a resolution on addressing single-use plastic products pollution.
Enforcement and Implementation of Ban in India
The ban would be monitored by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) and the state pollution control boards (SPCBs). The latter would report to the Centre at regular intervals. The environment ministry has directed all petrochemical industries not to supply raw materials to industries engaged in the production of banned single-use plastic products.
SPCBs and local pollution control committees have been directed by the government to modify or revoke the consent to operate issued under the Air/Water Act to industries engaged in single-use plastic items. The government has directed local authorities to issue fresh commercial licenses to industries with the condition that single-use plastic items would not be sold on their premises. The existing commercial licenses of the industries would be cancelled if they are found to be selling these items.
Violators of the ban would be penalised under the Environment Protection Act of 1986. The punishment would include imprisonment up to five years or a penalty up to rupees one lakh, or both. Also, violators could be asked to pay environmental damage compensation by the SPCB. There are municipal laws on plastic waste with their own penal codes.
Impact
According to the All-India Plastic Manufacturers Association, the ban would lead to shutting down of around 88,000 plastic manufacturing units, leading to employment threat to over a million people. The export contribution by these companies is worth over 25,000 crores. Fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) companies would be severely affected as they are highly dependent on plastic straws and plates. Further, there are only limited options of biodegradable replacements which are not cost-effective. These companies have requested the government for a six-month extension of the enforcement of the ban. They have also further asked the government to provide compensation to the companies which would lose their business due to the ban. However, the government said that it has had multiple consultations with the industry since 2018. Hence, stakeholders had ample time to find alternatives and to work on new technologies to preserve theirs and their employees’ livelihood.
Environmental Damage
Single-use plastic objects being light and flexible are less amenable to being recycled. They leach their toxins into the soil and cause environmental damage to both land and sea. In 2022, around 124 countries and parties, part of the UN Environment Assembly, including India, signed a resolution to end plastic pollution. Around the world, many countries are making their efforts to ban single-use plastic.
In India, so far, 32 states and union territories have reportedly constituted a dedicated task force to eliminate the use of single-use plastics.
Bangladesh has become the first country to ban single-use plastic bags since 2002.
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