NEW DELHI — India has banned single-use plastic products and disposable plastic products in India Friday under a federal plan to eliminate the ubiquitous material that is used by nearly 1.4 billion people.
It has identified 19 items of plastic that are not very useful, but could be litter. This makes it illegal to make, import, stockpile, distribute, or sell them. These items include plastic cups, straws, and ice cream sticks. Also, disposable plastic bags will be phased out and replaced by thicker bags.
The ban doesn’t apply to thousands of other plastic products, such as bottles of water or soda and bags of chips. However, the federal government has established targets for manufacturers to recycle or dispose of these products after they are used.
The ban was being considered by plastic manufacturers who appealed for the government to delay it, citing inflation and possible job losses. At a New Delhi press conference, Bhupender Yadav, India’s federal environment minister, stated that the ban was in the works for one year.
He said, “Now that the time is over.”
India claimed that the banned items had been identified, while considering the availability of alternative products: bamboo spoons and plantain tray, wooden ice cream sticks, and bamboo spoons. Many vendors claimed that they were still confused in the days before the ban.
Moti Rahman (40), is a New Delhi vegetable vendor. His customers carefully selected fresh summer produce from his cart Tuesday before he placed them in a plastic bag. Rahman stated that he supports the ban but warned that his business would be affected if there is no readily available, equally cost-effective, replacement.
He said, “After all plastic is used in every thing.”
Street vendors in India, often with margins too slim to switch to cheaper and weaker options, might have to make a choice between losing customers or risking imprisonment.
This isn’t the first instance of India considering a ban on plastic bags. Previous iterations of the plastic ban have been limited to specific areas, with varying degrees success. Satyarupa Shakta, Asia-Pacific coordinator for Break Free from Plastic, said that a nationwide ban on plastic use, as well as its production and importation, was a “definite boost.”
Plastic is largely not recyclable worldwide and millions of tons pollute our oceans, affect wildlife and end up in our drinking water. Scientists continue to study the dangers posed by microplastics, tiny pieces of plastic that have been broken down. According to India’s federal pollution watchdog, more than 4.1 million tonnes (4.5 million U.S. tonnes) of plastic waste were generated in India in 2020.
Due to the poor waste management system in many of the country’s cities and villages, a lot of it isn’t recycled and pollutes the environment. According to Our World in Data, nearly 14 million tons of plastic waste from South Asia were either littered or never recycled in 2019. This is the highest level in the world.
Plastic production releases greenhouse gases that cause global warming. India has over 243,000 metric tonnes (268,000 U.S. ton) of plastic disposable each year. India must reduce the production and subsequent waste of plastic if it is to achieve its goal of reducing emissions by 45% within eight years.
Recent research has identified more than 8,000 chemical additives for plastic processing. Some of these chemicals are 1,000 times more potent than greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide. Global greenhouse emissions are caused by products such as single-use packaging, plastic resins and foamed insulation.
Plastic cannot be recycled. It can only be downgraded. Most plastic is incinerated or used to fuel waste-to-energy plants. This is sometimes called chemical recycling. Plastics can be used to make fuel three to four times more than scrap. However, recycling releases more carbon dioxide into the air, which increases the greenhouse effect.
