India all set to ban single use plastic

India is all set to impose a countrywide ban on use of single-use plastic. The country consumes 14 million tonnes of plastic annually. The ban on these items will clip 5 per cent to 10 per cent from this total annual consumption.

Since people will be allowed to adopt alternatives during this period, there will be no penalty for the first six months.

“First six months are meant for adapting to the new settings. During this period, multiple awareness campaigns will take place. Social workers will visit school and colleges to educate students about harmful effects of single use plastic”, said BJP leader Bijay Sonkar.

The ban will be imposed from October 2, the birth anniversary of Father of Indian Nation Mahatma Gandhi. There will be no fine in first six months.

In his Independence Day speech on August 15, Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged common people and government agencies to come together and help India free from single use plastic.

This will be a total ban on manufacturing, usage and import of such items.

A few states have already banned polythene bags. Now the government is all set for stricter environmental standards for plastic items and will push for the use of recyclable plastic only. E-commerce companies will also be asked to cut back on plastic packaging which makes up to 40 per cent of India's yearly plastic consumption.

“We have been campaigning for plastic eradication for two years. It is very easy to convince people from lower strata to not use plastic. Those belonging to middle and elite class learn when their own children ask them to abandon use of single use plastic. That is why we are trying to bring change through children. They are the frontrunners of this campaign”, says Benu Malhotra, founder of Delhi-based non-governmental organisation (NGO) 'Parvaah’.

The NGO provides free cotton bags to vegetable vendors and urges them to not use plastic. They are also provided with free sheds as incentive.

Seventeen-year-old student Raghvendra Lahoti urges people of Sarvodaya Enclave to take pledge to throw plastic out of the system. 

There is rising concern about plastic-caused pollution worldwide, with major focus on the oceans where about 50 per cent of single-use plastic products land, killing marine life and making the entry into the human food chain.

The European Union (EU) aims to ban single-use plastic products such as straws, knives, forks and cotton buds by 2021.

The single-use plastic is any plastic that is used once and can’t be re-used such as plastic bags, straws, cups, glasses, plates, sachets etc.

In landfills, plastic can take up to 1000 years to decompose. Plastic bags take 10-1000 years while plastic bottles can take 450 years or more to decompose. Straws take up to 200 years to biodegrade.

Raghvendra explains to me why awareness against use of plastic is the need of the hour.

Hope the government’s initiative succeeds in curbing plastic menace in the country.