The Government of India (GoI), on Thursday, August 12, 2021, announced a ban on the single-use plastic, and the same will effective from July 2022. The announcement was made after the environment ministry released a gazette notification in the night on Thursday stating that the ban will be implemented in a phase-wise manner, whereby the first set of products will include ice cream sticks, cutlery etc.
The notification released by the government said that the use of single-use plastic, including polystyrene and expanded polystyrene commodities will be prohibited in the country from the July 1, 2022, as per the Plastic Waste Management Amendment Rules, 2021, and this will be applicable across sectors like manufacture, import, distribution, etc.
As of now, polythene bags which are marked under 75 microns will be banned first, effective from September 2021, followed by polythene bags under 120 microns from December 2022. Currently, bags that are marked as 50 microns or less have been banned in the country, and other categories would follow. This is expected to make a big impact across India and will affect several industries.
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The notification clarifies that the criteria for thickness will not be applicable to bags made from compostable plastic, however, a Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) certificate has to be issued by manufacturers who wish to sell these.
Officials said that the decision will positively impact the environment and data suggests that approximately 40% of the total plastic waste is not collected or recycled on a daily basis in India. Moreover, the decision been taking keeping the plastic elimination aspects in mind which incurs a high cost for collection and also leads to a higher environmental cost.
Meanwhile, state governments and respective civic bodies have been directed to take up the responsiblilty of waste management and maintenance, for which the corporation will have to plan a system to ensure collection, storage, segregation, collection, processing, disposal, etc.
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Some of the products banned as per the list are