The government of India has notified the revised rules for plastic waste management in 2021 to prohibit the identification of disposable plastic articles before 2022.
On thickness
According to the notice on August 12, from September 30, 2021, the thickness of plastic handbags will increase from 50 microns to 75 microns, and from December 31, 2022, the thickness of plastic handbags will increase to 120 microns. This will also allow the reuse of plastic handbags, the notice said.
The notice said that from September 30, 2021, the non-woven plastic handbag shall not be less than 60g per square meter.
"From July 1, 2022, it is prohibited to produce, import, store, distribute, sell and use the following disposable plastics, including polystyrene and expanded polystyrene. The commodities include earplugs with plastic rods, plastic rods for balloons, plastic flags, candy rods, ice cream rods, and decorative polystyrene (Thermocol); Plates, cups, glasses, knives and forks, spoons, knives, straw, trays, and other tableware; Wrap or wrap around candy boxes, invitations and cigarette boxes, plastic or PVC banners below 100 microns, blenders, "it says.
The notice states that these provisions do not apply to goods made of Compostable Plastics.
Modi's plan since 2018
In June 2018, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that India would eliminate all disposable plastics in China by 2022.
At the Fourth United Nations Environment Conference in 2019, India piloted a resolution to solve the pollution of disposable plastic products, recognizing that the global community urgently needs to pay attention to this problem.
The Ministry of Environment said in a statement that according to the 2016 plastic waste management rules, plastic packaging waste not covered in the phase-out of identified disposable plastic articles should be collected and managed in an environmentally sustainable manner through the extension of producer responsibility of producers, importers and brand owners (Pibo).
According to the report, in order to effectively implement the extension of producer responsibility, the revised rules give the guidelines legal effect.
Extended Producer Responsibility
Expanding producer responsibility is a policy approach in which producers are responsible for managing the disposal of products they produce once consumers believe that they are no longer useful.
Earlier, the center requested States and federal regions to establish a task force led by the chief secretary or the director to eliminate sup and effectively implement the 2016 plastic waste management rules.
According to the reply of the State Minister for the environment Ashwini chubby in parliament, as of July 23, 14 states and UTS had formed a task force.
The Ministry of the environment has also established a national task force to coordinate efforts in this regard.
National and ut governments and relevant central ministries and departments are also required to develop a comprehensive action plan to eliminate sup and effectively implement the rules in a time-bound manner.