Single-use Plastic Ban in India: A Reality Check

Anyone active on social media platforms must have surely come across numerous posts and pictures of wildlife, especially aquatic creatures choking, with their heads or necks caught in plastic waste, sometimes even ingesting a lot of plastic, leading to disastrous consequences. Ranging from wrappers to carry bags to plastic containers, these discarded items are posing a serious threat to nature and wildlife. Being durable and very slow to degrade, plastic waste can persist in the marine environment for decades to centuries, states a study published in 2009.

Britannica defines Plastic Pollution as ‘accumulation in the environment of synthetic plastic products to the point that they create problems for wildlife and their habitats as well as for human populations.’

We came across this video that explains how plastic bags impact the environment. This visual feature on the United Nations Environment Programme website describes plastic pollution in detail.

WHAT IS SINGLE-USE PLASTIC

Plastic Products that are used just once or for a short period of time before being thrown away are called single-use plastics. They are made primarily from fossil fuel-based chemicals (petrochemicals). Single-use plastics are most commonly used for packaging and service ware, such as bottles, wrappers, straws, and bags.

A DRIVING FORCE BEHIND CLIMATE CHANGE

Being one of the most persistent pollutants on Earth, plastic might take centuries to degrade, emitting greenhouse gases and thus contributing to global warming throughout its lifetime. 

A report on the University of Colorado website calls single-use plastic a ‘driving force behind climate change’. It states that as single-use plastic is produced from fossil fuels, the process of extracting and creating these plastics emits huge amounts of greenhouse gases.

Estimates say that just the extraction of these fossil fuels and their transportation to plastic factories emits 12.5 to 1.5 million metric tons of greenhouse gases.

The report also states that the removal of forested land for oil extraction and pipeline construction has also resulted in over 1.6 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide being released into the atmosphere. This land clearing also limits the amount of carbon dioxide removed from the atmosphere. Also, the refinement of plastics emits an additional 184 to 213 million metric tons of greenhouse gases each year. Landfills, where thrown out single-use plastics are sent, account for over 15% of methane emissions. The disposal of more plastics in landfills leads to increases in landfill size and these emissions.

PLASTIC POLLUTION IN INDIA

A whopping 9.46 megatons of plastic waste is generated by India annually. The nation currently ranks fourth among the biggest carbon emitters. Plastic recycling is still largely informal despite the existence of 5,000 registered recycling units says a report published in February 2022 in India Development Review (IDR). It states that 40% of India’s plastic waste is not collected and is either burnt, lost, or dumped into landfills or waterways. 

BAN ON SINGLE-USE PLASTIC ACROSS INDIA

In an effort to make India plastic-free, a ban on single-use plastics was enforced from July 1, 2022. Though some items have not been included in the list yet, it is being considered a small, symbolic step that might help in creating some awareness among the general public against the dangers of plastic pollution. 

Plastic carry bags, for instance, with thicknesses of more than 75 microns will still be available till the end of 2022. From January 2023, the thickness of such carry bags will have to be more than 120 microns. 

We asked our colleagues across different bureaus at Fact Crescendo about the status of the implementation of the ban on single-use plastics in their hometowns. 

Our colleagues Nasim Akhtar and Rahul Adhikari reported that in different parts of West Bengal the ban is being partially followed. They also said that this may be because of the lack of awareness of the recent ban among the people. 

Siddharth Sahu said that single-use plastic in the form of ‘carry bags’ is still being used in Odisha. He stated that he hasn’t observed any major promotion of the ban by the authorities or environmental organizations on the subject. He said that just like in other parts of the country, some residents do carry their own cloth bags while going grocery shopping. He said that malls charge extra for bags. 

Parthiban S from Tamil Nadu observed that hotels in his area were following the ban but some grocery shops were still giving out their items in plastic carry bags. He added, however, that some local residents have been using the traditional Manja Pai or cloth bags and Katta Pai or jute bags for shopping, hence bringing down the usage of single-use plastic carry bags. Supermarkets and butchers in his area are charging an amount for issuing plastic carry bags to those customers who ask for them.   

Meanwhile, Frany Karia said that people of Gujarat do not use single-use plastic carry bags as almost everyone carries a cloth bag while going shopping. He said that a fine is levied on any trader or retailer who issues single-use plastic carry bags to their customer. He said that most people carry their own bags as cloth bags provided by shopping malls and traders cost around Rs 20-25. Certain retailers, he added, use plastic bags of about 50mm in width for which they charge a minimal amount. He also talked to a few shopkeepers who said that they are using single-use plastic bags as they don’t have any cheap alternative to them. 

Almost all the people we reached out to, asking about the implementation of the ban on single-use plastics unanimously agreed that though media had reported extensively on the subject, aggressive promotional activities by the authorities and environmental organizations will be needed for awareness to be created. Only that will catalyze the masses to sit up, take notice, and act, thus beginning the slow process of working towards a plastic-free world. 

WHAT CAN YOU DO TO BEAT PLASTIC POLLUTION?

The only way to reduce the impact of greenhouse gas emissions by single-use plastics on climate change is to stop using them altogether. However, completely eliminating single-use plastics which are also used in packaging products of daily use will happen only over a certain period of time. There are some small steps we can take that may eventually have significant outcomes in terms of reducing our carbon footprint and those simple steps are as easy as reusing water bottles, reusing bags for shopping and repurposing plastic items instead of disposing of them carelessly. 

Also, Read this article in Assamese | Gujarati