India bans single-use plastic items from July 1

India will ban manufacture, import, stocking, distribution, sale and use of identified single-use plastic items across the country from July 1, 2022.

Plastic menace

• Plastic was first invented in 1907, and given that it was cheaper and more convenient than other materials, it soon found use in varied ways in our daily lives. 

• Today, plastic is present in almost everything, from our money to electronic appliances, and it is used across multiple sectors, including packaging, building, construction, transportation, industrial machinery and health among others. 

• However, the lack of sustainable plastic waste management (PWM) poses a serious threat to our environment and natural ecosystem globally. 

• Data indicates that while a large quantum of plastic waste is generated, low levels of it are sustainably managed and discarded worldwide. 

• From 1950 to 2015, around 8.3 billion metric tonnes (BMTs) of plastic had been produced globally, and of this, 80 per cent – 6.3 BMTs – was accounted as plastic waste. 

• Of these 6.3 BMTs of waste, only 9 per cent was recycled, 12 per cent incinerated and 79 per cent dumped into landfills, oceans or waterbodies. 

• Various manufacturing industries across the globe produce 400 million tonnes of plastic waste per year, with the packaging industry being the largest contributor. According to a report by FICCI, 40 per cent of the packaging needs in India are fulfilled using plastic.

• Globally, plastic pollution has emerged as a serious menace in the absence of streamlined PWM focusing on reuse, reduction, and recycling of plastic waste. 

Single-use plastic

• The Plastic Waste Management Rules, amended in 2021, define single-use plastic as a plastic item intended to be used once for the same purpose before being disposed of or recycled. 

• The United Nations defines single-use plastics, often referred to as disposable plastics, as being commonly used for plastic packaging, including items intended to be used only once before being thrown away or recycled. 

• These include grocery bags, food packaging, bottles, straws, containers, cups and cutlery. 

• Single-use plastic is the most popular kind of plastic due to its easy access and high use. While it is cheap, strong and hygienic for transporting goods, it is the most difficult to recycle. 

• Plastic carry bags are produced using less energy and water and generate less solid waste than paper bags as they take up less space in landfills. These salient features of single-use plastics make it a preferred material in commercial use. 

• The adverse impacts of single-use plastic have created an alarming situation across the globe with a call for countries to make commitments against plastic.

• According to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), India generates around 2.4 lakh tonnes of single-use plastic per annum. 

• According to the All India Plastic Manufacturers Association (AIPMA), around 88,000 units are engaged in manufacturing single-use plastic in the country. These units employ about one million people.

The move to ban single-use plastic items

• In the 4th United Nations Environment Assembly held in 2019, India had piloted a resolution on addressing single-use plastic products pollution, recognising the urgent need for the global community to focus on this very important issue. 

• The ministry issued ‘Standard Guidelines for Single-Use Plastic’ on January 21, 2019 to all states/UTs and central ministries for eliminating the use of single-use plastic.

• The Department of Chemicals and Petrochemicals had set up an expert committee on single-use plastics which submitted its report in September 2019, recommending an immediate ban on identified single-use plastic items which have low utility and high environmental impact.

• In August 2021, the ministry of environment, forest and climate change notified the Plastic Waste Management Amendment Rules, 2021, prohibiting manufacture, import, stocking, distribution, sale and use of identified single-use plastic commodities, including polystyrene and expanded polystyrene from July 1, 2022.

• The notification to ban 19 single-use plastic items was issued under the Environment Protection Act (EPA) and any violation will invite punitive action, including a fine or a jail term or both, detailed under Section 15 of the Act.

• Section 15 of the Environment Protection Act says: Whoever fails to comply with or contravenes any of the provisions of this Act... shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to five years with fine which may extend to Rs 1 lakh, or with both. If the failure or contravention continues beyond a period of one year after the date of conviction, the offender shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to seven years.

Single-use plastic items that will be banned

• The list of banned items includes earbuds with plastic sticks, plastic sticks for balloons, plastic flags, candy sticks, ice cream sticks, polystyrene (thermocol) for decoration, plastic plates, cups, glasses, cutlery such as forks, spoons, knives, straw, trays, wrapping or packing films around sweets boxes, invitation cards, cigarette packets, plastic or PVC banners less than 100 micron, stirrers.

• The Plastic Waste Management Amendment Rules, 2021, also prohibit manufacture, import, stocking, distribution, sale and use of plastic carry bags having thickness less than 75 microns with effect from September 30, 2021, and having thickness less than thickness of 120 microns with effect from December 31, 2022.

Steps taken for enforcement of the ban 

• For effective enforcement of the ban on the identified single-use plastic items from July 1, national and state-level control rooms will be set up and special enforcement teams will be formed to check illegal manufacture, import, stocking, distribution, sale and use of banned SUP items.

• States and UTs have been asked to set up border checkpoints to stop the inter-state movement of any banned single-use plastic items.

• The CPCB has launched a grievance redressal application to empower citizens to help curb the use of plastic.

• The ministry has also notified the Guidelines on Extended Producers Responsibility on plastic packaging as Plastic Waste Management Amendment Rules, 2022 in February.

• Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) is the responsibility of a producer for the environmentally sound management of the product until the end of its life. The Guidelines will provide a framework to strengthen the circular economy of plastic packaging waste, promote development of new alternatives to plastic packaging and provide next steps for moving towards sustainable plastic packaging by businesses. 

• Officials said plastic used for packaging in the FMCG sector is not banned but will be covered under the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) guidelines. 

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