Single-use plastics: The next five steps
On July 1, India banned single-use plastics (SUPs), and pushed a new regulation on plastic bags, requiring them to become thicker over time. These are not nationally prohibited, although states can make stricter provisions. The rules do not apply to SUPs that are made of compostable plastics. Nobody ought to be unprepared to implement the ban. It was announced in 2021, and the public was given 60 days to provide feedback. But the critical challenge now is to implement the ban in letter and spirit.
Five challenges and their solutions can make India the first country to genuinely get rid of SUPs. An obvious first step is alternatives. These include new materials as well as social norms. State governments have rapidly pushed out the information on what is banned, but the alternatives are left to the users. Some have switched easily. Others, such as coconut water sellers, are struggling. Investing in options is key to the success of this law. Indeed, it can become an essential source of green jobs, especially if the cottage industry can access subsidies, viability gap funds, procurement and markets.
The government, especially the Bureau of Indian Standards, must set minimum standards to ensure alternatives can be reused and contain zero-toxicity, keeping the circular economy principles in mind. Behaviourial shifts towards reducing even alternatives are important. Do you even need a paper straw? This is an excellent fit with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s LIFE (Lifestyle For Environment) campaign. New social codes and norms can eliminate many materials entirely. To do this, our leaders and influencers must normalise appropriate behavioural change as part of the postSUP world.
A second challenge: What to do with the alternatives from paper and other bio-materials that will be trashed? Local composting is the best answer. Dumping these in landfills increases the potent greenhouse gas, methane. Moreover, composting can create local jobs, particularly for waste pickers, who would lose 40-60% of their incomes if every single recyclable plastic was banned in India. If anything, preparing for a lowplastic society and economy must be underpinned by a just transition for India’s almost two million waste pickers and the informal-recycling chain.
Third is the tricky issue of reliable data, which is essential to monitor plastic reduction. Without a robust plastics registry, systemic change is almost impossible. This should be established rapidly, with third-party oversight and easy public access. Such data is valuable only when it is granular: The registry must contain district-wise manufacturing, sales, collection, recycling, and disposal data. Not only should the data include plastics that are banned or are under extended producer responsibility, but also compostable plastics.
Fourth: What about discarded SUPs from compostable plastics? We cannot afford a new menace in our ecosystem. These materials need specific industrial composting for them to break down adequately. Even in advanced systems, I’ve often seen compostable plastics not composted for lack of facilities. How will these be safely collected and composted in India? Only one solution is in sight: Place them under Extended Producer Responsibility (where producers of a product are made responsible for their treatment and disposal), so they are safely disposed of. Finally, India’s regulatory history shows us that delays and postponements are the slow death of implementation. The key point is not to exempt any entity from these rules. Instead, corporate citizens should join the rest of India to do the right thing: Use innovation and leadership to ensure plastic pollution remains a sad but fading scar from the past, not an ongoing tragedy.