Plastic Ban in India:
Plastic is any synthetic or semi synthetic organic polymer. In other words, while other elements may be present, plastics always include carbon and hydrogen. While plastics may be made from just about any organic polymer, most industrial plastic is made from petro chemicals. Thermoplastics and thermosetting polymers are the two types of plastic. The name "plastic" refers to the property of plasticity, which is the ability to deform without breaking
Currently, cities including Delhi, Mumbai, Karwar, Tirumala, Vasco, Rajasthan, Kerala, Punjab and now Madhya Pradesh to name a few have the ban on the plastic bags in place. But, its enforcement and effective implementation is an issue.Currently, most municipalities are struggling to implement existing plastic waste and solid waste regulations. In many cases, NGOs, CSR funds and initiatives by private companies, citizen activists and in particular the resourceful informal sector of waste pickers, have filled the gap. But this is not enough.
Better waste management systems with focus on segregation incentive models can help achieve long-term impacts. If cities segregate waste into three fractions wet, dry and domestic hazardous waste —and if municipalities create infrastructure such as material recovery facilities or sorting stations, dry waste can be sorted into different fractions.
The Nation Green Tribunal (hereinafter referred to as 'NGT') and other state High Courts around the country have also passed a number of orders to impose fines on violation of bans, to prevent the disposal of plastic in water bodies and to reaffirm bans in different states.
In Sandeep Lahariya v. State of Madhya Pradesh, the NGT (Central Zone), ordered the Pollution Control Board of Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh to take steps regarding plastic waste management. After the order, several steps were taken in these states and raids were conduct to stop manufacturing and distribution. Recently, the judgment of Chandigarh Consumer Forum dated April 9, 2019 imposed a penalty on the shoe store BATA, for charging its consumers INR 3 for a shopping bag to carry their purchases home.
Plastic waste is at epidemic proportions in the world’s oceans with an estimated 100 million tonnes dumped there to date, according to the United Nations. Scientists have found large amounts of micro plastic in the intestines of deep-dwelling ocean mammals like whales.India, which uses about 14 million tonnes of plastic annually, lacks an organized system for management of plastic waste, leading to widespread littering.
The non-recyclable dry waste fraction and contaminated plastics, etc. are suitable for incineration-based technologies. Also, in scenarios where materials are so degraded from repeated recycling that they are of no further use or comprise low-value contaminated plastics that cannot be recycled, deriving energy from them is preferable to discarding them at a landfill site.
The 2019 Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) document on Gap Analysis of the Compliance Report Submitted by States and Union Territories remarked that states/UTs were not furnishing information (PW generation records, creating state level advisory body, framing bylaws, marking and labelling of MPLs, plastic manufacturing/recycling units etc.) regarding Plastic Waste Management Rules, 2016 in their jurisdiction and were not taking concrete steps to take preventive and regulatory measures envisaged under the rules.
Currently in India, there is only one law that is in place – No manufacturer or vendor can use a plastic bag which is below 50 microns as thinner bags pose a major threat to the environment due to its non-disposability. The usage of plastic bags is still high as the ban is not implemented on all plastic bags.
Many big brands and vendors have started charging the customers for the polybags in order to commercially discourage them, but it is so far not been effective as there is no law or guidelines that says shopkeepers should charge money from the customers for the polybag.