Ban on Single-use Plastic

In News

• Recently, the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) has ordered a ban on the use of single-use plastic from July 1.  

About the recent announcement of Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB)

• Ban: This includes the manufacture, import, stocking, distribution, sale and use of single-use plastic items that are identified as those having low utility and high littering potential.
• Plastic bags of thickness less than 120 microns will also be phased out from December 31, 2022 in India.  
• Plastic sticks: plastic sticks will be out of the market. These include earbuds with plastic sticks, candy sticks, ice cream sticks, plastic sticks for balloons, plastic flags and thermocol (polystyrene) for decoration.
• Packing and wrapping plastic films: like cling films used to cover sweet boxes, invitation cards and cigarette packets will also be banned.
• PVC banners: PVC banners of less than 100 microns will no longer be allowed.
• Sachets: According to the Plastic Waste Management Rules, 2016, there is also a complete ban on sachets using plastic material for storing, packing or selling gutkha, tobacco and pan masala.  

What is single-use plastic?

• Single-use plastics or disposable plastics: are used only once before they are thrown away.
• Single-use plastic items include plastic bags, straws, coffee stirrers, soda and water bottles and most food packaging.

Legislation

• Monitoring: The ban will be monitored by the CPCB from the Centre, and by the State Pollution Control Boards (SPCBs) that will report to the Centre regularly.
• Directions to petrochemical industries: have been issued at national, state and local levels to not supply raw materials to industries engaged in the banned items.
• Directions have also been issued to SPCBs and Pollution Control Committees to modify or revoke consent to operate issued under the Air/Water Act to industries engaged in single-use plastic items.
• Local authorities have been directed to issue fresh commercial licences with the condition that SUP items will not be sold on their premises, and existing commercial licences will be cancelled if they are found to be selling these items.
• Penalty: Those found violating the ban can be penalised under the Environment Protection Act 1986 which allows for imprisonment up to 5 years, or a penalty up to Rs 1 lakh, or both.
• Violators can also be asked to pay Environmental Damage Compensation by the SPCB: In addition, there are municipal laws on plastic waste, with their own penal codes.

Issues/ need to ban single-use plastics

• Non-recyclable: Often these kinds of plastic are not disposed of properly and cannot be recycled.
  • World-wide only 10-13% of plastic items are recycled.
• Addition of chemicals: The nature of petroleum based disposable plastic makes it difficult to recycle and they have to add new virgin materials and chemicals to it to do so.
• Greenhouse gas emissions: It has been projected that single-use plastic could account for 5-10% of greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
• Threat to aquatic life: around 14 million tonnes of plastic end up in the ocean which with time breaks down into highly toxic microplastics.
  • It floats on the sea surface and ends up clogging the marine animals.
• Plastic does not decompose: it remains in the same landfills that they have been buried in for millennia to come.
• Invisible plastic has been identified in tap water, beer, salt and are present in all samples collected in the world’s oceans, including the Arctic.
• Releases toxic fumes: plastic cannot be burned as it releases toxic fumes and harmful gases during the process.
• Leaching of plastic waste: into the ground, water sources and more has been linked to the presence of dangerous microplastics.
• Tourism and economy: Plastic waste damages the aesthetic value of tourist destinations, leading to decreased tourism-related incomes and major economic costs related to the cleaning and maintenance of the sites.

How are other countries dealing with single-use plastic?

• United Nations resolution: 124 countries which are party to the United Nations Environment Assembly including India signed a resolution to draw up an agreement which will in the future make it legally binding for the signatories to address the full life of plastics from production to disposal, to end plastic pollution.
• Country wise assessment
  • Bangladesh became the first country to ban thin plastic bags in 2002.
  • New Zealand became the latest country to ban plastic bags in 2019.
  • China issued a ban on plastic bags in 2020 with phased implementation.
  • Seattle became the first major US city to ban plastic straws in 2018.
• Directive on Single-Use Plastics in the European Union (EU): The directive bans certain single-use plastics for which alternatives are available.
• Current scenario: 68 countries have plastic bag bans with varying degrees of enforcement.

India’s Efforts In Tackling Plastic Waste

• The Plastic Waste Management Rules, 2016: 
  • It clearly stipulates that urban local bodies (ULBs) should ban less than 50 micron thick plastic bags and not allow the usage of recycled plastics for packing food, beverage or any other eatables.
  • It introduced the concept of EPR(Extended Producer Responsibility) to manage plastics in India.
    • EPR means the responsibility of a producer for environmentally sound management of the product until the end of its life.
• Plastic Waste Management (Amendment) Rules, 2022: 
  • The guidelines on EPR(Extended Producer Responsibility) coupled with the prohibition of identified single-use plastic items.
  • It banned the manufacture, import, stocking, distribution, sale and use of carry bags made of virgin or recycled plastic less than seventy-five microns. 
  • The items that will be banned are—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 and knives, straw, trays, wrapping films around sweet boxes, invitation cards, and cigarette packets, plastic or PVC banners less than 100-microns and stirrers.
    • The ban will not apply to commodities made of compostable plastic.
  • The Central Pollution Control Board, along with state pollution bodies, will monitor the ban, identify violations, and impose penalties already prescribed under the Environmental Protection Act.
• Swachh Bharat Mission – Urban 2.0:
  • Segregation and sorting: 
    • Under this, every Urban Local Bodies (ULB) is required to adopt 100% source segregation of waste, and have access to a Material Recovery Facility (MRF) for sorting the dry waste (including plastic waste) into further fractions for recycling and/ or processing into value-added products. 
    • This is aimed to reduce plastic and dry waste ending up in dumpsites or waterbodies.
  • Further, the ULBs will need to identify SUP ‘hotspots’ and eliminate them.
  • ULBs have to leverage the support of State Pollution Control Boards and form special enforcement squads, conducting surprise inspections and imposing heavy fines and penalties on defaulters, for enforcing SUP bans.
  • Alternatives: 
    • The ULBs will need to identify SUP alternatives (such as cloth/jute/plastic bags, degradable cutleries, etc.) readily available in the market and create awareness about such alternatives among citizens.
  • Reuse:
    • States and ULBs have also been advised to enter into MoUs with nearby cement plants or other industrial units as well to ensure that a part of the plastic waste generated is used either as an alternative fuel in cement plants or for road construction purposes. 
• India is a signatory to MARPOL (International Convention on Prevention of Marine Pollution).
• The “India Plastic Challenge – Hackathon 2021 
  • It is a unique competition calling upon start-ups /entrepreneurs and students of   Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) to develop innovative solutions to mitigate plastic pollution and develop alternatives to single-use plastics.
• Others:
  • India Plastics Pact
  • Project REPLAN
  • Un-Plastic Collective
  • GoLitter Partnerships Project

Way forward/ Suggestions 

• Use less plastic: Since most of the single-use plastics cannot be recycled, we need to use less plastic in that case and move towards environmentally sustainable products and services and come up with technology that recycles plastic more efficiently.
• Storage of the material remains the only viable solution apart from recycling.
• Hope towards reduction: With a ban on such plastic items, India can hope to reduce its plastic waste generation figures.  
• The phase-wise banning should be developed based on materials, recyclability, availability of alternatives and livelihood security to the informal sector.

Source: IE