New Delhi: As the clock ticks closer to the plastic ban, which kicks in 1 July, the Indian plastic industry finds itself on edge. Pointing out how manufacturers ramped up production during the pandemic — to keep up with the demand for PPE kits and other single-use plastic items considered essential to Covid prevention — they say they have been given a raw deal by the Modi government, and “made criminals overnight”.
Come Friday, India will ban the manufacture, import, stocking, distribution, sale and use of identified single-use plastic items that have low utility and high littering potential. The government has refused to extend the deadline despite requests from various stakeholders, including Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) companies.
The items to be banned include plastic plates, cups and glasses, and cutlery such as forks, spoons, knives, straws, trays and stirrers. Plastic sticks for earbuds, balloons, flags, candy, and ice-cream, and thermocol for decoration, wrapping or packing films, plastic invitation cards and cigarette packets, and PVC banners less than 100 microns will not be allowed either.
According to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), India has about 683 units that can manufacture around 2.4 lakh tonnes of single-use plastic per annum.
Industry representatives are demanding more time from the government to phase out single-use plastic products, and have questioned the government’s move to ban several products that they claim are recyclable.
According to the Thermoformers and Allied Industries Association (TAIA), the industry has a turnover of Rs 10,000 crore and directly employs 2 lakh people. The ban, it said, will render assets worth Rs 5,000 crore useless overnight.
The ban will also affect the recycling industry, which indirectly supports 4.5 lakh people, it added. Single-use plastic items such as rigid trays, glasses and cutlery made of polypropylene are picked up by ragpickers and sold to recyclers, who use them to churn out plastic sheets that can be used for making bristles for toothbrushes and other rigid plastic products.
ThePrint reached the environment ministry for a comment via email, but was yet to receive a response by the time of publishing this report.
Experts at the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) have described the ban as “limited” but said it is “a critical step” towards controlling the plastic menace. Even so, they have echoed industry concerns on the fact that the ban doesn’t cover multi-layered packaging, which “is used in almost all fast-moving consumer goods, from chips to shampoos to gutka pouches”.
Also Read: Worried about carbon footprint? Indian start-up’s ‘recycled’ shoes may put your mind at ease
‘Multi-layered plastics are the culprits’
Multi-layered plastics or multi-layered packaging (MLP), according to the TAIA, are the major culprit of plastic pollution. But, the government has given two years to its manufacturers for phasing out MLP, it said.
“These products are lighter in weight and more difficult to recycle. These end up in landfills and oceans,” TAIA joint secretary Ankur Nagpal said.
When disposed of, multi-layered plastics are used for purposes such as road construction and fuel generation. The CPCB has been nudging various agencies to use waste plastic for road construction.
Industry players say ragpickers avoid collecting such waste products because of low returns, which places the onus of MLP segregation on municipal agencies.
“In Bihar, we found that the problem was that the government was not even able to procure the required plastics to fulfil the target of building roads. This is because the municipal bodies are not doing what is required to collect and segregate plastic waste,” TAIA east zone joint secretary Prem Kumar said.
India generated 34.69 lakh tonnes per annum (TPA) of plastic waste in 2019-2020. Approximately 15.8 lakh TPA of plastic waste was recycled and 1.67 lakh TPA co-processed in cement kilns, according to a government reply in the Lok Sabha.
In a statement issued on 29 June, CSE head Sunita Narain advocated a three-pronged strategy to deal with plastic waste in India.
“Firstly, all the plastic produced and used should be collected for disposal. Secondly, waste plastic must be recycled or incinerated. It should not reach landfills or choke our waterbodies,” she said.
“Thirdly, the reuse or disposal has to be in a manner that is environmentally friendly and does not end up creating more pollution or health hazards. But most importantly, those plastic items that are difficult to collect or recycle should be eliminated from use. This is where the current ban, however limited, fits in.
Also Read: Lambasingi is sold as the Kashmir of South India, but tribals have had enough of tourists
No ‘viable’ alternatives
TAIA representatives say plastics are ubiquitous as there are no other viable alternatives as of now.
“Biodegradable plastics are more expensive. For a roadside vendor, the cost will go up significantly,” Nagpal said. “Moreover, hot food and beverages cannot be served in them.”
“Paper products puts a much higher burden on the environment,” he added. “They are not suitable for serving bigger portions of juices or drinks. Most paper cups are lined with plastic for durability, making the waste non-recyclable and adding to microplastic pollution.”
Even though the Prime Minister announced India’s intention to ban single-use plastics in 2019, there have been no clear guidelines, claimed the association.
“During the initial consultations with the government, we were told that recyclable products will not be banned,” Kumar said. “If the government was planning to ban them, why did it continue to approve such expansions? Why did it not stop us when we were placing huge orders for raw material from GAIL or ONGC?”
Nagpal added that all they want “is the government to tell us what we should produce that it will not ban”.
“Instead of shutting down our livelihoods, we are asking the government to introduce specifications that make it easier to recycle plastic waste,” TAIA national secretary Bhavesh Bhojani said. “We are on the same page with the government and willing to cooperate.”
The association has suggested that the government restrict the production of plastic cups having a capacity of less than 210 ml and weighing less than 5 g. Plates and trays should not be less than 150 microns in thickness or less than 5 g in weight, it said.
If the products are heavier, Bhojani added, there is greater incentive for ragpickers to collect and sell them to recyclers. The industry supports the government’s decision to ban foamed plastics, he added.
(Edited by Tony Rai)
Also Read: India to the US — here’s why the world urgently needs a global treaty on plastic pollution