Indian ban on single-use plastic comes into effect

BY S VENKAT NARAYAN
Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI, July 1:The Indian ban on single-use plastic came into effect on Friday (July 1) even as industry associations urged the government not to impose a blanket ban but implement it in a phased manner.

To implement the ban on single-use plastic smoothly, state governments will initiate an enforcement campaign and close down units engaging in the production, distribution, stocking, and sale of such items.The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change notified the Plastic Waste Management Amendment Rules, 2021, in August last year.

The rules mandate a ban from July 1 on manufacturing, import, stocking, distribution, sale, and use of single-use plastic items — an industry that is worth INR 100 billion. The law covers rigid plastic items such as plates, cups, glasses, cutlery, wrapping or packaging films, PVC banners less than 100 micron, straws, and stirrers.The single-use plastic manufacturing industry employs nearly 200,000 people directly and around 450,000 indirectly, the ministry said.

Union Environment Minister Bhupinder Yadav said: “We are expecting cooperation from the FMCG (Fast Moving Consumer Goods) industry. The micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), which are currently manufacturing single-use plastics, will be urged to shift to making alternatives. We will run awareness programmes. The government is committed to the initiative and will not take a step back.”

Several FMCG firms and restaurants rushed to meet the single-use plastic ban as the companies and eateries said they are scrambling to replace plastic spoons, straws, and containers, citing the high cost of alternatives. FMCG companies have said the ban on single-use plastic will ultimately increase the cost of final products.

Several products that use single-use plastic are banned from Friday. These include: cutlery items such as plates, cups, glasses, forks, spoons, knives, trays, etc. Other products that come under the ban are earbuds, balloon sticks, cigarette packs, sweet boxes, candy and ice cream sticks, invitation cards, polystyrene used for decoration, and PVC banners measuring under 100 microns.