With the ban on certain single-use plastic (SUP) items kicking in from today, states are implementing enforcement campaign and closing down units engaged in production, distribution, stocking and sale of such items. Last week, the ministry of environment, forest and climate change had notified that the government will ban identified single use plastic items across the country from 1 July.
The Central Pollution Control Board of India (CPCB) had shared that India generates around 2.4 lakh tonnes of SUP per annum and the per capita SUP production is 0.18 kg per year. Last year, the environment ministry issued a notification prohibiting manufacture, import, stocking, distribution, sale and use of identified SUP commodities, including polystyrene and expanded polystyrene from July 1, 2022, reported news agency PTI.
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Govt action on single-use plastic plan
Those in violation of the ban will receive punitive action, which includes fine or a jail term or both under Section 15 of the Environment Protection Act (EPA) and under bylaws of respective municipal corporations, said the ministry officials according to PTI.
National and state-level control rooms have been set up and special enforcement teams formed to check illegal manufacture, import, stocking, distribution, sale and use of banned SUP items.
States and Union Territories have been instructed to set up border checkpoints to stop the interstate movement of any banned SUP items.
The Central Pollution Control Board has also launched a grievance redressal application to empower citizens to help curb plastic usage.
Also note that the plastic used for packaging in the FMCG sector is not banned but will be covered under the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) guidelines, according to the officials. The EPR has been considered to be the responsibility of the producers to ensure environmentally-sound management of the product until the end of its life, reported PTI.
FMCG and agro food companies selling packaged fruit juices and dairy products have shifted to paper straws despite higher costs. While most companies have now put integrated paper straws with their small tetra packs following the government declining their pleas to extend the ban on plastic straws for six months.
The identified SUP items include earbuds, plastic sticks for balloons, flags, candy sticks, ice-cream sticks, polystyrene (thermocol), plates, cups, glasses, forks, spoons, knives, straws, trays, wrapping or packaging films around sweets boxes, invitation cards, cigarette packets, plastic or PVC banners of less than 100 microns, and stirrers.
Meanwhile in Delhi, the Revenue Department and the Delhi Pollution Control Committee have formed around 33 and 15 teams to ensure enforcement of the ban, as per the PTI report.
Almost 1,060 tonne of plastic waste per day is generated in Delhi and single-use plastic is estimated to be 5.6% or 56 kg per metric tonnes of the total solid waste in the country’s capital.
The Delhi environment department officials stated that units engaging in manufacture, import, stocking, distribution sale and use of the identified SUP commodities and other prohibited activities under the Plastic Waste Management Rules will be immediately shut.
The Municipal Corporation of Delhi and other urban local bodies will act against the defaulting units according to their bylaws while the Revenue department will take action under the Environment Protection Act.
The implementation of the ban will be monitored by the environment department through the “Green War Room” which was setup in October 2020 to keep a tab on air pollution levels and address related complaints.
The Green Delhi Application has also been updated to file complaints regarding violation of the ban on SUP items. The Delhi government has also decided to conduct a study to find out potential barriers to the elimination of SUP items. The DPCC has also asked the Sriram Institute of Industrial Research to conduct a survey to identify littering hotspots and quantify plastic waste generation in the city.