Single-use plastic ban from July 1: Here’s all you need to know

The government is set to ban single-use plastic in India from July 1.

Adhering to this upcoming change, the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) issued a lit of measures to impose the ban which includes manufacture, stocking, import, sale and distribution of single-use plastic items.

What are single-use plastics and what does the ban imply?

Single-use plastics (SUPs) are known as those which are discarded after one-time use. Apart from the plastic bags, the SUPs include disposable cutlery, straws, and stirrers, food containers, processed food packets and wrapper, cotton bud sticks etc.

Notably, the products made using foamed plastic, including cutlery, plates and cups pose serious threat to environment.

As per the United Nations Environment Programme – UN Environment, plastic can take over thousand years to decompose if it is not recycled. It is a highly inflammable substance, which is filling up landfills faster than it should. Small fragments of plastics in landfill often leach carcinogenic metals into groundwater.

When the landfills accidently catch fire, the burning plastic releases toxic gases into the environment. Next, it ends up into the sea and clogs airways of marine animals.

How is India managing plastic waste?

In 2016, the Centre issued Plastic Waste Management Rules to impose a ban on “non-recyclable and multi-layered” packaging by March 2018. The rules also implied a ban on carry bags of thickness less than 50 microns.

These rules were then amended in 2018 after certain changes which were not taken well by activists. Many environment activists emphasised that the changes were supporting the plastic industry. Moreover, there was no mention of SUPs in these rules.

Later, on the World Environment Day 2018, India pledged to phase out SUPs by 2022. The Centre declared a ban on single-use plastic starting July 22. A notification issued by the Environment Ministry on Plastic Waster Management Amendment Rules, 2021 stated, “The manufacture, import, stocking, distribution, sale and use of… single-use plastic, including polystyrene and expanded polystyrene commodities shall be prohibited with effect from the 1st July, 2022.”

List of items covered in the single-use plastic ban

The single-use plastic ban will include plastic sticks used in earbuds, balloons and candy ice-creams.

Plastic cutlery items, including plates, glasses, forks, spoons, trays, knives,

Plastic packaging and wrapping films used in invitation cards, sweet boxes and cigarette packs will also be banned.

Besides this Polystyrene (thermocol) for decoration PVC banners will less than 100 microns and stirrers will also be banned.

Notably, the single-use plastic ban doesn’t apply on commodities made with compostable plastic.