A small step on the long road to banning plastic

The 21 banned plastic items satisfied one of two criteria: they were either high on environmental impact such as litter found in water bodies, or low on utility – stuff that is used once and discarded – like plastic wrapping on sweet boxes. (Representational image: Naja Bertolt-Jensen via Unsplash)

The 21 single-use plastic items banned in India from July 1 are just the tip of the iceberg. There is a much bigger environmental hazard that is assuming humongous proportions in the country and worldwide, experts warn. Nevertheless, the ban is a good start that needs proper enforcement to be successful.

The experts say the list is not comprehensive, as major plastic contaminants such as multi-layered packaging, which is used in everything from packets of chips to shampoo bottles and gutkha pouches, have been left out.

The Plastic Waste Management Amendment Rules, 2021, notified by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change on August 12 last year, bans the manufacture, import, stocking, distribution and sale of 21 items with low utility and high littering potential.

What's being banned

The list includes plastic sticks for ear buds, balloons, candy and ice-cream; plastic flags; polystyrene (thermocol) for decoration; plastic plates, cups, glasses; cutlery such as forks, spoons, knives; straws, trays; wrapping or packaging films around sweet boxes, invitation cards and cigarette packets, plastic or PVC banners less than 100 micron, and stirrers.

The rules already prohibit carrybags with thickness less than 75 microns and less than 120 microns (from December 31 this year).

The list was prepared by an expert committee constituted by the department of chemicals and petrochemicals under the Union Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilisers.

The panel proposed two parameters to identify the problematic plastics. The first were those high on environmental impact such as litter found in water bodies, river beds, drains, etc. The second were those low on utility – stuff that is used once and discarded.

In February, the environment ministry had also notified guidelines on ‘extended producers’ responsibility’ on plastic packaging. The norms would require producers to take responsibility for environmentally sound management of a plastic product until the end of its life.

“The ban is a welcome step. It has happened after much deliberation and sends out a positive message on adverse impacts of plastics,” said Satish Sinha, associate director of Toxics Link, an environmental NGO.

Pradeep Sangwan, founder of Healing Himalayas, which works for the protection of the mountain range, feels most of these products polluting hills and rivers are being used because they are being manufactured. “Why are we using such useless products? We can survive without them.”

(Image: Sylwia Bartyzel via Unsplash)

Implementation is the key

The experts, however, warn that this is only a small beginning, albeit an important one, and only strict enforcement will make it work else it will end up like previous bans on plastic bags, which fizzled out.

“It is a good move, a starting point that needs enforcement and proper implementation to be successful,” said Atin Biswas, programme director, municipal solid waste, Centre for Science and Environment (CSE). “But the popular narrative that India is going to ban single-use plastics is just not right because only a fraction is being prohibited,” he cautioned.

According to the environment ministry, national and state-level control rooms and special teams will keep an eye on the illegal production, import, distribution, sale and use of the banned items.

Violations will lead to punitive actions prescribed under the Environment Protection Act, such as imprisonment for up to five years with a fine that may extend to ₹1 lakh, or both.

Biswas said one can’t expect overnight change but if these plastics are still being used three-four months down the line, the ban will have no meaning. “We have a basketful of policies but implementation remains tardy.”
However, some reduction in the foot-print of single-use plastic can be expected if implemented properly, he said.

Sangwan seconded Biswas, saying many good policies on solid waste were not being implemented in a proper manner. “We don’t need a paper policy,” he said.

Panchayats and villages are doing good work to reduce plastic but need help and guidance, Sangwan said. “We need a bottom-up and top-down approach. All agencies need to collaborate to enforce the ban at the ground level.”

Both said a lot of plastic waste reduction depends on how consumers behave. Once they know about the ill-effects of plastic, and the alternatives available, many might want to shift to cleaner stuff.

(Image: Time Mossholder via Unsplash)

What's left out

A major cause of concern is the absence of the ubiquitous multi-layered plastics (MLPs) as well as plastic bottles from the list. One of the top litter items, these are found everywhere, right from your neighbourhood drain to rivers and oceans to high up in the hills.

Multi-layered plastics used in packets of chips or gutkha or food products by fast-moving consumer goods companies are problematic because they are difficult to collect and almost non-recyclable.

These plastics have two or more layers, plastic together with aluminium or paper, Biswas explained.

“Hypothetically, these can be recycled. The layers can be separated. But as they do not meet the criteria of economy of scale, the industry is not interested in recycling them,” Biswas said.

There is no definite number on the quantity of MLPs in the overall plastic waste stream. “But if we look at garbage heaps, we will mostly find MLPs, which are mainly incinerated in cement kilns or waste-energy plants,” the CSE expert explained.

Nearly 60 percent of plastic comes from packaging comprising 25-30 big brands, which can be identified because there is distinct marking or branding.

But most of the items mentioned in the notification, barring earbuds, are non-branded and made by the informal sector.

“So if you look at this notification, the big brands are barely getting affected,” Biswas said.

The methodology applied to make this list should be applied to other sections of plastic as well, he argued. “There is evidence to prove that drinking water, beverage or pet bottles fulfil the criteria to feature in this list but they have not been banned.”

Explaining the flip side of recycling, Biswas explained how 90 percent of recycled pet bottles are used to make textile fabric. But pet fibre, once discarded, gets categorised as textile waste and not as plastic waste. “So this is not recycling in real terms.”

Sunita Narain, director general of CSE, said the ban was too limited but still a critical step. “Our cities are littered with non-biodegradable plastic material, and it is adding to environmental stress and degradation,” she said in a statement.

Multi-layered plastics are almost non-recyclable. (Image: Nick Fewings via Unsplash)

A worldwide concern

According to the Central Pollution Control Board, which sent a slew of directives regarding the ban, approximately 3.4 million tonnes per annum (TPA) of plastic waste was generated in India in 2019-20. Maharashtra (13 percent) topped the list followed by Tamil Nadu (12 percent).

Goa, Delhi and Kerala reported the highest per capita plastic waste generation.

India generated more than 25,940 tonnes of plastic waste every day, the government told the Lok Sabha in 2019. Forty percent of this remained uncollected.

According to a report by earthday.org, around 380 million tonnes of plastic are produced yearly across the world. And 8.3 billion tonnes have been produced since plastic was introduced in the 1950s.

Humans use about 1.2 million plastic bottles per minute in total and about 500 billion plastic cups every year. Roughly, half of our global annual plastic production is destined for single-use products, the report says.

Single-use plastic straws and stirrers collected over 35 years from marine bodies would stretch the entire length of the Himalayas, according to the 2021 International Coastal Cleanup (ICC) report by oceanconservancy.org. The total weight of trash removed during the 35 years is equal to 1,148 blue whales.

In the fourth United Nations Environment Assembly in 2019, India piloted a resolution to tackle pollution by single-use plastic products. In the fifth session, held this March, India engaged with all member states to develop a consensus on global action to deal with the issue.

Many countries, such as Canada, European Union members and some US states, have already banned plastic bags or select single-use plastic items.
Highlighting the problem in the fragile Himalayas, Sangwan said tourism is one of the reasons behind increased waste generation.

“Waste of tier 2/3 cities is generated in small towns in the hills. There is plastic waste on Mount Everest.”

Sangwan said they were in talks with the Himachal Pradesh government to find out ways to stop plastic bottles and other waste from reaching the higher Himalayas.

Manoj Mishra, convenor of Yamuna Jiye Abhiyaan, said rivers are dying as their tributaries, especially smaller ones, are clogged with refuse, chiefly single-use plastics.

“Manufacturing of such products must be banned across the board. Selective banning will lead to corrupt practices by enforcers.”

Plastic cutlery and straws are on the banned items list. (Image: Volodymyr Hryshchenko via Unsplash)

Are viable alternatives available?

Apart from lacklustre enforcement, another challenge that could impede implementation efforts is stiff resistance from traders and manufacturers of plastic products.

The industry is asking for some more time to find alternatives, saying 88,000 units employing about 1 million people and contributing to exports worth Rs 25,000 crore will be left bankrupt.

Biodegradable plastics are among the alternative materials being suggested. Experts say cutlery could be replaced through other materials such as bamboo or plantain leaves, paper, or areca leaf, which manufacturers say are costlier.

All India Plastics Manufacturers’ Association director-general Deepak Ballani said the ban had thrown up many challenges. And switching over to alternatives to cater to the current market is one of them.

“The alternatives do not necessarily provide the same functionality, not to mention availability of raw materials. The higher cost of alternatives is also a major challenge,” Ballani said.

It would have been prudent to have alternatives in hand before enforcing the phase-out, he said. The makers now face the dilemma of compromising on food safety, health safety and consumer convenience while searching for alternatives, Ballai argued.

“Hopefully, such alternatives will be based on sound science so as not to leave a larger impact on the environment than what they are replacing,” he said.

The ministry notice said central and state pollution control authorities and the Union ministry for small, micro and medium enterprises would provide technical assistance to small industrial units for the production of viable alternatives.

Biswas, however, said compostable and bio-degradable plastic is not as easy as it sounds. Bio-degradable doesn’t mean one throws the plastic along with food waste and it will get composted.

“They are compostable only in a controlled industrial environment. We don’t know how many establishments with such facilities exist.”

Dealers and shop owners had their own concerns. A wholesaler said he would suffer huge losses as he did not know what to do with his current stock.

The owner of a small tea stall said an earthen cup is costlier than a disposable plastic cup and would reduce his income.

Experts say it’s now or never as every move to change is always resisted. “The cost of inaction perhaps will be far higher,” Sinha said.

Narain said it is time people take responsibility for the waste they generate and not use banned items. “Because we must and can live without them,” she said.