By Satyaki Paul
Recently, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) under the Union Government has introduced the Plastic Waste Management Amendment Rules, 2021 which seeks to prohibit ban on single-use plastic items. The ban is on the plastic items which have “low utility and high littering potential” and the deadline is set on 2022.
As per Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), India generates close to 26,000 tonnes of plastic a day and over 10,000 tonnes a day of plastic waste remains uncollected. This was in consonance to a recent study conducted by Un-Plastic Collective has revealed that India generates 9.46 million tonnes of plastic waste annually, of which 40% remains uncollected and 43% is used for packaging, most of which are of single-use plastic. All these impacts our Indian society economically, environmentally and in many other incomprehensible ways which are yet unknown to us. The new rules put in place certain mandates which seeks to lessen such impacts through rules which observes that manufacture, import, stocking, distribution, sale and use of following single-use plastic, including polystyrene and expanded polystyrene, commodities shall be prohibited with effect from the 1st July, 2022.
The items which are set to ban are:
- Ear buds with plastic sticks, plastic sticks for balloons, plastic flags, candy sticks, ice-cream sticks, polystyrene [Thermocol] for home ornamentation;
- Plates, cups, glasses, cutlery such as forks, spoons, sporks, knives, straw, trays, wrapping or packing films around sweet boxes, invitation cards; and
- Cigarette packets, plastic or PVC banners less than 100 micron, stirrers.
Thus, in order to stop littering due to light weight plastic carry bags, with effect from September 30, 2021, the thickness of plastic carry bags has been increased from 50 microns to 75 microns and to 120 microns with effect from the December 31, 2022. These new rules will also allow reuse of plastic carry due to increase in thickness of microns. Furthermore, the plastic packaging waste, which is not covered under the phase out of identified single use plastic items, shall be collected and managed in an environmentally sustainable way through the Extended Producer Responsibility of the Producer, importer and Brand owner (PIBO), according to the Plastic Waste Management Rules, 2016. For effective implementation of Extended Producer Responsibility the Guidelines for Extended Producer Responsibility being brought out have been given legal force through Plastic Waste Management Amendment Rules, 2021.
In conclusion, as a way forward it can be observed that raising awareness amongst the public of the harm caused by plastic pollution can be done effectively through education and outreach programs which would ultimately reform human behaviour in our Indian society. In this context, a social movement against plastic waste would have to prioritise the reduction of single-use plastic such as multi-layer packaging, bread bags, food wrap, and protective packaging. The Swachh Bharat Mission can be also used as an emergent platform for tackling plastic waste management.