India gears up its fight against single use plastic, asks states to phase out by june 30

India produces 3.5 million tonnes plastic waste per year

New Delhi: On the eve of World Environment Day, the centre has written to the state governments to phase out single-use plastic (SUP) by June 30.
“Given the dual mandate of World Environment Day and India’s committed ban of SUP by 30th June 2022” said Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs in a statement.
The Union Ministy will also launch ‘Clean and Green’ campaign on World Environment Day tomorrow. Under this campaign, Urban Local Bodies across the country will hold awareness programmes to free the country of single use plastic and contribute to improve the environment.

In a bid to make the country free of single use plastic (SUP), the Ministry has also issued a detailed advisory to States and UTs to take up a range of activities to fulfil these mandates.

The advisory for enforcing the committed nation-wide SUP ban encompasses a plethora of suggested initiatives. These will include large scale cleaning and plogging drives, with special emphasis on plastic waste collection, as well as large scale tree plantation drives, with participation of all citizens – students, voluntary organisations, self-help groups, local NGOs/CSOs, NSS and NCC cadets, RWAs, market associations, corporate entities, etc.

According to the offical statement, 2,591 ULBs (out of 4,704) have already reported notification SUP ban as per the directions of Central Pollution Control Board and MoEF&CC, States/ UTs will need to ensure that the remaining 2,100-plus ULBs notify the same by 30th June, 2022.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s 89th Mann Ki Baat address to the nation on 29th May 2022, where he exhorted citizens to join together and make some efforts for cleanliness and tree plantation on the occasion of World Environment Day.

Under the Swachh Bharat Mission – Urban 2.0, currently being implemented by MoHUA, plastic waste management, including elimination of SUP – is a crucial area of focus.

Under the Mission, every ULB is required to adopt 100 percent source segregation of waste, and have access to a Material Recovery Facility for sorting the dry waste including plastic waste into further fractions for recycling and or processing into value added products, thereby reducing to a minimum the amount of plastic and dry waste ending up in dumpsites or waterbodies.
ULBs will need to identify SUP ‘hotspots’ and eliminate them, while parallely leveraging the support of State Pollution Control Boards and forming special enforcement squads, conducting surprise inspections and imposing heavy fines and penalties on defaulters, for enforcing SUP bans.

As per PWM (Amended) Rules, 2021, the manufacture, import, stocking, distribution, sale and use of carry bags made of virgin or recycled plastic less than seventy-five microns (75 µ i.e. 0.075 mm in thickness) has been banned with effect from 30th September, 2021 as opposed to fifty microns (50 µ) recommended earlier under PWM Rules, 2016.

In accordance with the PWM (Amended) Rules, 2021 a range of complementary initiatives will also be taken up to strengthen enforcement.

States and ULBs have also been advised to enter into MoUs with nearby cement plants or other industrial units as well to ensure that a part of the plastic waste generated is used either as alternative fuel in cement plants, or for road construction purposes.