Environmental News from India:
From July 1, single-use plastic will be banned in India. The Centre has barred the manufacturing, distribution, importing, sale, stocking, and use of all single-use plastic, comprising polystyrene and expanded polystyrene commodities (from July 1) across the country. Let’s understand what this ban means for you and what all items are being banned.
What Is Single-Use Plastic?
Also called disposable plastics, single-use plastics, as the name suggests are discarded after being used once. These kinds of plastics are often not disposed of appropriately and cannot be recycled as well. According to a 2021 report by the Minderoo Foundation, one of the Australian philanthropic organizations, single-use plastics constitutes around a third of all plastic produced worldwide. It also accounts for the majority of plastic being thrown away – 130 million metric tonnes globally in 2019 – and all of it is burned, buried in landfills, or scrapped directly into the environment, the report added.
Since disposable plastics are petroleum-based, they are difficult to recycle. Furthermore, there is a finite number of items where recycled plastic can be utilized. India comes in the top 100 nations of single-use plastic waste generation and needs to implement urgent measures to shift toward environmentally sustainable products and services as well as devise technology that recycles plastic more efficiently.
What Items Will Be Banned From July 1, 2022?
The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) has announced a ban on the following items:-
- Balloon sticks
- Cigarette packs
- Cutlery items including plates, cups, glasses, forks, spoons, knives, trays
- Earbuds
- Sweet boxes
- Candy and ice cream sticks
- Invitation cards
- Polystyrene for decoration
- PVC banners measuring under 100 microns
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Source: Outlook