Plastic plastic everywhere, not an alternative seen
Banning a commonly used substance like SUP could become a mere piece of paper if the government fails to implement it properly
Source - Taniadimas; Pixabay
After the nationwide ban on single-use plastic with effect from 1 July 2022 (read India bans single-use plastic from 1 July 2022 – MDDTimes), there is hardly any difference in the use of single-use plastic across the country after more than a month of the ban.
The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change had said in June that it will ban manufacturing, import, stocking, distribution, sale and use of identified single-use plastic (SUP) items across the country from 1 July 2022.
Among the banned items are ear buds 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, straw, trays, wrapping or packing films around sweet boxes, invitation cards, cigarette packets, plastic or PVC banners less than 100 micron, and stirrers.
However, barring a few days in early July and online platforms, SUP seems to be everywhere – from vegetable markets to restaurants. The government had said that it will establish national and state-level control rooms to monitor illegal manufacturing, import, stocking, distribution, sale and use of banned single-use plastic items. But there has been no notification on this so far.
Moreover, people do not see any alternative to SUP. Ramchandra Pal, a food vendor in Jeypore, Odisha, told MDDTimes, “We haven’t even heard of any alternative in the market. And we are worried about the high-priced paper bags which customers are reluctant to use as well in light of heavy rains.”
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