The government of India launched massive campaigns against single-use, or disposable, plastic products, as part of the year-long celebrations to mark 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. Many organizations also played their part in the initiative, deciding to go plastic-free.
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Flagging off the Bharatiya Janata Party’s Sankalp Yatra to celebrate Gandhi’s birth anniversary, Union home minister Amit Shah highlighted the perils of single-use plastic. “Plastic takes nearly 400 years to degrade and even animals are adversely affected. Single-use plastic is dangerous to the country and the world,” he said.
At a separate event, defence minister Rajnath Singh urged people to extend the cleanliness programme to cover environment protection and to vow not to use disposable plastic bags, as these are extremely harmful to nature. Instead, he advocated the usage of cloth bags, which are environment-friendly. “It will also generate employment for the poor,” said Singh.
Hardeep Singh Puri, the minister of state for housing and urban affairs, and civil aviation, also launched the Swachhata Hi Seva India Plog Run at Rajpath Lawn near India Gate in New Delhi to pay homage to the father of the nation. Plogging involves picking up litter while jogging.
The event was organized to spread awareness on the harmful effects of plastic waste and to get the support of citizens to eliminate single-use plastic. “Our ministry has been taking several initiatives on plastic waste management and promoting its reuse and recycle. The movement against single-use plastic has gained tremendous traction in just a few days. This is the beginning of a new Jan Andolan (mass movement),” said Puri.
To propagate the idea of shunning plastics, minister of youth affairs and sports Kiren Rijiju flagged off the Fit India Plog Run. “Plogging is a tribute to Mahatma Gandhi and his vision, to bring about cleanliness in all walks of life,” said Rijiju.
The GVK Mumbai International Airport Ltd (MIAL), which manages the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) at Mumbai, also announced that it will adopt 100% single-use plastic-free policy from 2 October.
While the government said that the single-use plastic ban will be imposed in phases, while exploring alternatives, plans are also underway to loop in the corporate sector. The government may soon roll out stringent norms and impose heavy fines on corporates, including the hospitality industry, mobile manufacturers and packaging industry, for failing to stop the use of plastic.
Under the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) scheme, which the government plans to implement more effectively, manufacturers, brand owners, and product importers will have to bear the responsibility for the environmental impact of the products through their life-cycle.
The EPR includes selection of raw material and design to manufacture a product, its packaging and efficient manufacturing process that would minimize impact on the environment. The producers should also develop a mechanism to collect used plastic products from their consumers and get it recycled.
EPR, which is considered as a solution to the growing hazard of plastic waste, was introduced in the Plastic Waste Management (PWM) Rules, 2011, and was largely redefined in PWM 2016, wherein producers, importers and brand owners were asked to take primary responsibility for collection of used multi-layered plastic sachets or pouches or packaging. Environment experts said the implementation of EPR has not been as effective and regulated as it was proposed to be.
“We can reduce this uncertainty by adopting standards and manufacturers could be encouraged to look for alternatives and substitute their virgin feedstock with recycled material in their production processes,” said an official of the environment ministry, requesting anonymity.
