Lack of alternatives may hurt decision to phase out plastics
Rehabilitation of 5mn workers in single-use plastic manufacturing sector another task at hand
United Nations Environment Programme, Confederation of Indian Industry and World Wildlife Fund India.
The Central Pollution Control Board’s Gap Analysis of compliance reports submitted by states on waste management published in July gives an idea of what a massive problem the Centre has at hand. The report shows that 18 states don’t have any information on how much plastic waste they are generating, 19 states haven’t submitted any information on how they are acting against noncompliance with plastic waste management rules and no state has any information on labelling of plastic carry bags and multilayered plastic for packaging.
The report also said that most They are disposable plastics commonly used for packaging and include items intended to be used only once before they are thrown away or recycled. These include grocery bags, food packaging, bottles, straws, containers, cups and cutlery.
All plastic carry bags, with or without handles, irrespective of thickness and size
Plastic cutlery including plates, plastic cups/glass straws, stirrers etc
Cutlery and other decorative made of Styrofoam (Thermocol). Manufacturers / consumers have been asked to shift to other environmental friendly alternatives. states didn’t have any information on whether urban local bodies have set up plastic waste management systems to collect and segregate waste.
In July 2005, when record rain and floods killed 1,000 people in Mumbai, urban planners said plastic waste choked drains and water bodies, worsening the impact of the showers. CPCB’S plastic waste guidelines said single-use plastics make land infertile, are ingested by cattle and contaminate groundwater by releasing toxins into the soil.
Moreover, the open burning of plastic waste—a common sight in the fringes of metro cities and smaller towns —can release carcinogenic and hormone-disrupting chemicals like dioxin.
are a huge environmental concern because once plastic reaches the environment in the form of macro- or microplastics, it contaminates and accumulates in food chains through agricultural soils, terrestrial and aquatic food chains, and the water supply… all plastic waste management technologies result in the release of toxic metals such as lead and mercury, organic substances (dioxins and furans), acid gases, and other toxic substances to the air, water, and soils,” said Swati Singh Sambyal, programme manager - environmental governance (waste management) at Delhi-based non-profit Centre for Science and Environment. There are challenges related to collection and segregation as well.
India has seven million workers who collect single-use plastic waste and pass it on for recycling but in many cases, single-use plastic is difficult to retrieve as the waste is not segregated. “Waste workers generate close to ~1,200 crores annually. We can play an important role in managing single use plastic waste provided we are assisted with baling, shredding and segregation machines. Plastic packaging you see on biscuit and chips packets was not getting recycled until recently; it is being used for road construction now,” said Shashi Bhushan Pandit of All India Ragpickers Union.
The environment ministry is yet to develop a framework on how extended producer responsibility (EPR) will be enforced so that plastic manufacturers can contribute in waste management.
The Plastic Waste Management Rules 2016 have a provision for EPR. “The micro, small and medium enterprise sector will be badly hit if there is a sudden phase-out. The government must give us time...,” said Deepak Ballani, director general of the All India Plastic Manufacturer’s Association. Dr Coluthur Gopalan passed away on Thursday at his Chennai home over a month before his 101st birthday on November 28. A former director of the National Institute of Nutrition (NIN), director general (DG) of Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), and the founder-president of the Nutrition Foundation of India (NFI), he is widely regarded as the Father of Nutrition Science in India.
Dr Gopalan’s research on the nutrition status of the Indian population laid the foundations for several national nutrition programmes, including those for anaemia control, vitamin A supplementation, integrated child development services (ICDS), the goitre control through universal salt iodisation.
He was awarded Padma Bhushan in 2002, recognised as a Living legend in nutrition by the International Union of Nutrition Sciences in 2013 and the Federation of Asian Nutrition Societies in