Enforcing the plastic ban well
Restricting single-use plastics is a big step, but it will need all hands on deck to work at scale
The world is choking on plastics. From the mountains to the ocean trenches, tiny plastic particles are everywhere, affecting human and animal health, the environment, and biodiversity. On Friday, India took a leap forward to contain this scourge by operationalising the Plastic Waste Management Amendment Rules, 2021, which bans the manufacture, import, stocking, sale, distribution, and use of single-use plastic (SUP) items. The first announcement for the phase-out was made on August 15, 2019, by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. In March 2021, the draft notification was released with the deadline for the phase-out as January 1, 2022. But in the final notification released in August 2021, the deadline was extended to July 1.
The ban on SUPS, a glaring example of the world’s throwaway culture, is significant because these products are non-biodegradable and difficult to collect and recycle. While headlines focus on the use of plastics, the truth is that the lifecycle of plastics — extraction (they are made from fossil fuel), transportation, refining, production, distribution, consumption, and disposal — involves processes that are polluting. India’s SUP ban is a work in progress because it is not a blanket one. Only 21 items, including plastic straws, plastic flags, plastic cutlery and so on, have been removed from the market. Plastic carry bags, for instance, will still be available, though the thickness has been regulated. India also has no definite data for the average plastic waste generation. In 2015, the government said India generated 9.5 million tonnes of plastic waste annually, but the Centre for Science and Environment believes this is a gross underestimation.
The ban on SUPS will not be successful unless all stakeholders — the government, industry, and consumers — do their bit. While the government needs to support alternatives to SUP products (at present, these are not cost-effective), industry has to come up with design changes in packaging to do away with or reduce plastic. In addition, the government must plug the gaps in the Extended Producer Responsibility rules under which it is the responsibility of a producer for the environmentally sound management of the product until the end of its life, and strengthen the human resource shortfall in pollution control boards so that they can conduct proper and regular inspections. Consumers must also focus on reducing, reusing, and recycling to ensure that SUPS don’t end up in landfills.