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5 facts that support Modi’s move to ban single-use plastic in India

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said India will ban single-use plastic in the coming years.

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New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to make an announcement on 2 October, imposing a nationwide ban on the use of single-use plastics in the form of bags, straws and cups.

Speaking at the 14th meeting of the Conference of Parties to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD COP 14) in Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh earlier this week, PM Modi had appealed to all delegates to initiate a global ban on single-use plastics.

Lower costs of production and relative durability have made single-use plastic an ‘essential’ item in everyday life. But it takes up to 500 years for plastic to decompose. As a result, plastic trash has been pilling up in landfills and filling up ocean beds. Plastic debris has even been found in the deepest parts of the Earth — the Mariana Trench.

As India looks to stamp out single-use plastic by 2022, ThePrint brings you five facts about the country’s mammoth plastic problem.


Also read: Modi govt’s blanket ban on plastics at this moment of economic slowdown is a bad idea


1. ‘India generates nearly 26,000 tonnes of plastic waste every day’

This often quoted figure is a conservative estimate provided by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) in 2012. This figure, however, does not include plastic waste that isn’t “collected”. Uncollected plastic eventually ends up in our natural environment, choking animals and marine life.

2. Less than half of the plastic waste that is generated gets reported

In its 2017-18 report, the CPCB had found that over 4.4 lakh tonnes of plastic was being generated each year. However, this figure represented data that was collected from less than 40 per cent of India — as only 14 out of the 35 regional pollution control boards had provided figures.

According to CPCB officials, for the 2018-19 report, 31 out of the 35 regional pollution control boards have submitted their data only after the NGT imposed a fine of Rs 1 crore. This report is set to be out later this year.

Plastic waste generation graphic
Graphic: Arindam Mukherjee

3. Waste segregation and management not effective

Only certain types of single-use plastic can be recycled. Cling films used to preserve food as well as certain types of polythene and plastic cannot be recycled. These end up in landfills or water bodies.

According to Sourabh Manuja, from the Centre of Waste Management at TERI, even plastic that can be recycled do not get segregated from other wastes.

“What drives recycling is money. For example, you will not see rag pickers collecting plastic straws. It may sell for about Rs 24 per kg, but the labour that goes into identifying and collecting straws is not worth it,” he said.

Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) — which is used in single-use plastic bottles — are easily identifiable and sell for Rs 30 per kg. “This is what ensures that most of these plastic end up getting recycled,” he said.

4. Indian Ocean world’s biggest dumping ground for plastic waste

An estimated 15 million tonnes of plastic end up in oceans every year. Most of this waste is dumped in the Indian Ocean, but where the trash ultimately ends up is still a mystery.

Scientists also believe there may be a ‘garbage bin’ forming in the Bay of Bengal where all the waste has been accumulating.

5. Humans consume microplastic equivalent to the size of a credit card every week

Plastic trash gets degraded into tiny components that enter food and water sources, eventually ending up inside our bodies. According to a report, humans end up consuming almost 5 grams of plastic every week, most of it through water. The effect of microplastics in our body is not properly understood yet since no long term study has been conducted on this.


Also read: Modi pushes for end to single-use plastic, calls it a form of land degradation


 

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3 COMMENTS

  1. Good article. Most people say that improve waste management etc. They don’t under stand that time has come to reduce the usage. In other countries as well this plastic ends up in landfills. Please grow up. Do your bit. Start from plastic bags. Don’t use any. BYOB

  2. Nicely written, Mohana Basu! Thanks for spreading awareness. This has all the warning signs for turning into a potential National health crisis, hence a real threat far greater than Pakistan or China could ever pose. I hope someone in the India is trying to correlate the rising incidences of cancer with increased usage and improper disposal of chemicals and polymers into the ecosystem. India does not have to wait for the Western science to tell us that it’s in deep trouble, but it will definitely need their help with recycling and cleaning technology.

    Garbage patches in oceans are conglomerating into floating trash islands. That’s why everyone needs to appreciate the threat and stand behind any proactive measures taken by this or any government. Here are some more resources for anyone interested in taking it up further:
    1. Trash Islands by Amanda Briney, April 26, 2018 https://www.thoughtco.com/trash-islands-overview-1434953
    2. Plastic Garbage Patch Bigger Than Mexico Found in Pacific by Shaena Montanari, July 25, 2017 https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2017/07/ocean-plastic-patch-south-pacific-spd/
    3. Plastic pollution: which two oceans contain the most? Aug 2016, Alex Gray https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2016/08/plastic-pollution-which-oceans-contain-most/
    4. The Pacific Ocean has a plastic problem. Here’s the bold plan to fix it by Douglas Main, April 2018, https://www.nbcnews.com/mach/science/pacific-ocean-has-plastic-problem-here-s-bold-plan-fix-ncna867456
    5. What’s happened to all the plastic rubbish in the Indian Ocean? April 17, 2019 , University of Western Australia https://m.phys.org/news/2019-04-plastic-rubbish-indian-ocean.html
    6. 414 million pieces of plastic found on remote island group in Indian Ocean by Ben Smee, May 2019 https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/may/16/414-million-pieces-of-plastic-found-on-remote-island-group-in-indian-ocean

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