Jul 1, 2022
By: Bhakti MakwanaThe government has banned single use plastic items from today, which are plastic items discarded after being used only once. It includes grocery bags, food packaging, bottles, straws, containers, cups and cutlery.
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Companies using plastic in packaging -- shampoo bottles, cosmetics bottles, polythene bags, face masks, coffee cups, trash bags, food packaging etc -- will also have to stop. Currently, most of the discarded plastic is either buried in landfills or directly thrown into the environment.
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Deciding the punishment after violation is up to the respective state government. For effective enforcement of the ban, the central and state government has set up special enforcement teams to check the illegal manufacture, import, stocking, distribution and sale of single use plastics.
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States and Union Territories have been asked to set up border checkpoints to stop the inter-state movement of any banned SUP items.
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The violation of the ban will have punitive action, including a fine or a jail term or both. Each state government has different fines and penalties.
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The Delhi government has warned of strict action including closure of units against manufacturers, distributors and suppliers if they fail to comply with zero inventory.
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Since 2018, the BMC has earned ₹5.53 crore in fines against use of plastics. According to government data, India generates around 2.4 lakh tonnes of SUP per annum.
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As an alternative for grocery shopping, one can replace it with cloth bags or jute bags.
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Further, plastic straws can be replaced with stainless steel straws, plastic coffee/tea stirrers can be switched with bamboo stirrers, plastic cups with glass or ceramic, steel instead of plastic for food containers.
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