India is all set to go ahead with its notification banning identified 19 single use plastic (SUP) items from July 1, 2022, The Centre on Tuesday said there was no plans to postpone the notification as sufficient time was given to the industry. The Government warned that violators will invite punitive action, including a fine or a jail term.
Single-use plastics are those items that are used only once and discarded. “The ban aims to curb pollution caused by single use plastic items which have low utility, high littering potential. We had given enough time to the industry to prepare for the implementation of ban,” Union Environment Minister Bhupendra Yadav told reporters on Tuesday two days ahead of the enforcement of the notification. The Minister’s statement comes in the wake of several representations made by various industries either seeking more time or urging the Government to impose the ban in a phased manner.
A senior official from the Central Pollution Control Board said that while directions have already been issued to all states to curb the supply of banned items, petrochemical industries have been asked to stop the supply of plastic raw materials to those engaged in the production of the banned items. As per the notification, the manufacture, import, stocking, distribution, sale and use of single-use plastic, including polystyrene and expanded polystyrene commodities will be banned from July 1, 2022.
Other prohibited items include plastic sticks that are used in ear buds, balloons, candy, ice-cream; cutlery items such as plates, cups , glasses, forks, spoons, knives, trays; packaging / wrapping films such as that used for sweet box, invitation cards, cigarette packets, and other items such as plastic flags, PVC banners of less than 100 microns, polystyrene for decoration. So far about 200-odd brand owners, including several MNCs, and 26 importers of plastic have already registered for Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) for plastic packaging under the amended Plastic Waste Management Rules 2016, said an official from the Ministry.
As per the data from Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), for year 2022-23, as many as 198 brand owners (BOs), and 26 importers (Is) have registered under the PIBO registration; the process is ongoing for 26 BOs, 29 producers (Ps) and 48 Is, while 76 BOs, 17 Ps and 38 Is have submitted their applications for registration. The EPR, i.e. the Extended Producer Responsibility, means responsibility of a producer for environmentally sound management of the product until the end of its life.
The Union Environment Ministry had notified the EPR guidelines vide Fourth Amendment to Plastic Waste Management Rules 2016 on February 16.
The minimum specified thickness for polythene carry bags was 75 micron already applicable from September 2021 but it would be 120 microns from December 2022. The officer said that for effective enforcement of the ban, national and state level control rooms will be set up and special enforcement teams will be formed for checking illegal manufacture, import, stocking, distribution, sale and use of banned single use plastic items.
“States and Union Territories have been asked to set up border checkpoints to stop inter-state movement of any banned single use plastic items. Also CPCB Grievance Redressal App has been launched to empower citizens to help curb plastic menace,” he said.
Earlier on Monday, Thermoformers and Allied Industries Association (TAIA) had urged the government not to impose a blanket ban on single-use plastics from July 1 and instead do it in a phased manner. Plastic plates, cups, glasses and trays are made from single-use plastics and the imposition of a ban will stop the manufacturing of these products and kill the Rs 10,000-crore size industry that employs 2 lakh people directly and 4.5 lakh people indirectly, said the Association in a statement here.
Similarly, industries depending on SUP items said the imposition of ban from 1 July would lead to several challenges such as supply constraints and making arrangements for alternative items, such as imported paper straws, as well as an increase in costs.