CAN INDIA FIND ANY GOOD ALTERNATIVE OF SINGLE-USE PLASTIC AFTER BAN?

(The Quiver):India generates 3.5 million tonnes of plastic waste a year. The government data reveals that India’s per capita plastic waste generation is 3 kg per year. Plastic waste generation during the year 2020-21 is approximately 41,26,997 tonnes per annum as per information provided by all State Pollution Control Boards. The government of India has strictly ban the single-use plastic from July 1.

Currently, PET bottles that are used to package water do not fall under this category.

CAIT National President B C Bhartia & Secretary General Praveen Khandelwal commented on the ban , “undoubtedly the pollution of the environment is a big threat to human civilisation and corrective steps are much needed to protect the environment. However, before any imposition of the ban, it is all the more necessary to keep equivalent alternatives ready to shift the usage.”

CAIT urged to constitute a joint committee of senior government officials and representatives of stakeholder with a time-bound mandate of suggesting equitable alternatives to single-use plastic so that without any disruption, the country stop using single-use plastic.

While speaking to the media regarding the strict imposition of ban,Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav said that control rooms would be set up to monitor and ensure the enforcement of the ban at the national and state levels.

Those found violating the ban can be penalised under the Environment Protection Act 1986 which is imprisonment up to five years or a penalty up to Rs 1 lakh, or both.

COUNTRIES WHICH HAVE BANNED SINGLE-USE PLASTIC

As of July 2019, 68 countries have plastic bag bans with various labels of enforcement.

Recently, Canada announced to ban single-use plastic in their nation from December 2022. The country has also said it will stop exporting such plastic by 2025.

Bangladesh has banned thin plastic since 2002, while New Zealand banned plastic bags in July 2019.

China issued a ban on plastic bags in 2020 . The European Union issued a directive to ban single-use plastics on July 2, 2021.

Eight states in the United States have banned single-use plastic bags, beginning with California in 2014. Seattle became the first major US city to ban plastic straws in 2018, although environmentalists say these are just piecemeal efforts because the United States ranks as the world’s leading contributor of plastic waste, according to a congressionally mandated report released last year.