People work at a plastic recycling station on the occasion of the World Earth Day on the outskirts of Agartala, India's northeastern state of Tripura, April 22, 2022. (Str/Xinhua)
In India, the world's second most populous country, plastic waste has become a significant source of pollution. Rapid economic growth and the increasing demand for goods that come with single-use plastic products are making things worse.
by Peerzada Arshad Hamid
NEW DELHI, July 13 (Xinhua) -- On the first day of July India's nationwide ban on single-use plastics comes into effect. The move is aimed at combating the worsening environmental pollution in the country of 1.39 billion people.
With the order, 19 items of single-use plastics that have low utility and a high potential to become litter will be phased out.
These items include earbuds with plastic sticks, plastic sticks for balloons, plastic flags, candy sticks, ice-cream sticks, polystyrene (Thermocol) for decoration, plastic plates, cups, glasses, cutlery such as forks, spoons, knives, straws, trays, wrapping or packing films around sweet boxes, invitation cards, cigarette packets, plastic or PVC banners less than 100 micron, stirrers.
The ban makes these items illegal to sell, produce, import, stock or distribute.
Thousands of other plastic products such as plastic bottles, are not covered by the ban.
Plastic manufacturers had appealed to the Indian government to delay the ban, citing inflation and potential job losses. Even firms dealing with food and beverages had lobbied for straws to be exempted from the ban arguing they did not get adequate time to prepare for the restriction.
A ragpicker carries a bag containing polythene items in Srinagar, summer capital of Indian-controlled Kashmir, July 1, 2022. (Xinhua/Javed Dar)
PLASTIC WASTE
In India, the world's second-most populous country, plastic waste has become a significant source of pollution. The rapid economic growth and the increasing demand for goods that come with single-use plastic products are making things worse.
According to India's federal environment minister Bhupender Yadav, India is generating 3.5 million tonnes of plastic waste annually and the per capita plastic waste generation has almost doubled over the last five years.
India lacks an organised system for managing plastic waste, which is precisely the reason behind widespread littering across the country's villages, towns and cities. Heaps of plastic goods eventually choke drains and rivers and often find their way into the oceans. It has also become a reason for animal deaths across the country.
Some estimates say almost 15 percent of plastic is burnt, which emits hazardous chemicals such as dioxins, furans, mercury and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) into the atmosphere, thus endangering the lives of animals and plants. Apart from this, the burning of plastic contributes significantly to air pollution and primarily exposes residents living close to the dumpsites to a greater risk of getting respiratory ailments and cancer.
A ragpicker arranges plastic bottles in Srinagar, summer capital of Indian-controlled Kashmir, July 1, 2022. (Xinhua/Javed Dar)
DOUBTS OVER IMPLEMENTATION
Though people hail the government's move and say the ban is a definite boost, enforcing it across the country is a real challenge for authorities.
Rouf Ahmad, a resident of the northern Indian city of Chandigarh said the ban is a "good beginning, but its success will depend much on how perfectly it is implemented."
"Even in the past, we have seen the employees from the local municipal bodies doing the market checks and then seizing the polythene bags occasionally. But that proved less effective as vendors and shopkeepers continued to sell their commodities in the new polythene bags procured freely from the market," Ahmad said.
The government this time has decided to set up control rooms to check any illegal use, sale and distribution of single-use plastic products.
In the Indian capital city, the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) has set up a control room for the implementation of the ban on single-use plastic items and has said that it will shut down units violating the ban.
The Delhi government has constituted at least 48 teams who will ensure the enforcement of the ban on plastic products by conducting surprise inspections across the city.
National and state-level control rooms will also be set up and special enforcement teams will be formed for checking the illegal manufacture, import, stocking, distribution, sale and use of banned plastic items.
States have been asked to set up border checkpoints to stop the interstate movement of any banned items.
IMPACT OF PLASTIC ON HEALTH, ENVIRONMENT
According to the United Nations, plastic waste is at epidemic proportions in the world's oceans, with an estimated 100 million tonnes dumped in the large bodies of water on earth.
Scientists studying the marine water bodies have found huge amounts of microplastic in the intestines of deep-dwelling ocean mammals like whales.
According to India's federal ministry of environment the adverse impacts of littered single-use plastic items on both terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, including in the marine environment, is globally recognized.
The ministry says addressing pollution due to single-use plastic items has become an important environmental challenge confronting all countries.
"Only a minuscule amount of plastics is recycled or destroyed in waste-to-energy facilities. Most end up in landfills, where they can take up to 1,000-plus years to decompose," argues Bhupender Yadav.
"Worse, plastics release toxic substances that leach into the soil and water. As they decompose, plastic breaks down into tiny pieces that eventually become microplastics. Newer research shows the presence of microplastics in soils, freshwater, and even the air we breathe. This is a matter of grave concern."
Scientists are still trying to assess the risks posed by the tiny bits of broken-down plastic, known as microplastics.
The almost nonexistent waste management system across India's burgeoning cities and villages means that much of this waste is not treated and is dumped in landfill sites. It ends up polluting the environment.
In addition, thousands of other plastic products like bottles for water or carbonated drinks and juices or bags of chips are not encompassed in the ban.
A ragpicker puts polythene items in a sack bag in Srinagar, summer capital of Indian-controlled Kashmir, July 1, 2022.(Xinhua/Javed Dar)
"The fact is that the current ban on single-use plastics is too limited, though it is a critical step to control the menace. We do not need to be warned about the problem. We live it every day," writes Sunita Narain, a Delhi-based environmentalist and editor of the environmental magazine Down to Earth.
"Our cities are littered with non-biodegradable plastic material, and it is greatly adding to environmental stress and degradation. The way ahead is to ensure that ubiquitous plastic items in our daily lives are recycled or disposed of safely."
INNOVATION TO FIND ALTERNATIVES
The ban on single-use plastic will encourage ways for innovations to find alternatives. The alternatives will be explored to come up with products that are plant-based and rapidly biodegradable.
The need to find replacements is expected to encourage the use of bamboo, paper, or metal straws to replace plastic straws. Even edible straws and spoons such as pasta straws or rice straws or spoons made from multi-grain flour can be used.
Plastic shopping bags can be replaced with reusable cloth bags in a bid to cut down on the usage of plastics to improve the earth's sustainability and public health, experts said. ■
