Editorial: Ambivalence towards plastic ban

Modi called for an end to plastics in his I-Day speech in 2019 and in his Mann ki Baat but a similar zeal is not reflected in implementation

Despite the lofty proclamations on the issue of plastic ban, the NDA government’s performance on the ground leaves much to be desired. India took a perplexingly ambivalent stand during the last week’s meeting of the Intergovernmental Negotiations Committee, formed by the United Nations Environmental Assembly to finalise an international treaty to decisively end plastics pollution. Instead of advocating an aggressive approach to the issue, the country’s representatives called for a ‘consensus’ approach, a euphemism for inordinately delaying the treaty. In 2016, India put out plastic waste rules with ambitious goals, such as phasing out multi-layered plastics in two years. In 2018, the government said it would phase out all single-use plastics by 2022. But in 2019, the Centre diluted this commitment in its submissions to the UN. It also diluted the plastic waste rules and effectively took back its proposed ban on multi-layer plastics. In 2022, a ban on certain single-use plastics like straws and spoons came into effect. While this was hailed as a major ban, it, in effect, targeted 2-3% of total plastics, and left plastics used by large companies untouched. After the first meeting of the Intergovernmental Negotiations Committee, countries were asked to submit written suggestions on the treaty text. Sixty-seven countries made the submissions. But India was not among them. Prime Minister Narendra Modi called for an end to plastics in his Independence Day speech in 2019 and in his Mann ki Baat radio broadcast. But, a similar zeal is not reflected in the implementation. The Centre touts the ban on single-use plastics as among its environmental achievements.

Regulating the production of plastic — and thus putting a price on it — is widely seen as the best way to control its use and spur innovations into alternative materials. But that is where India seems to be stumbling. Nearly 26,000 tonnes of plastic waste is generated across India every day and 10,000 tonnes waste remains uncollected. The rest accumulates in landfills or in the natural environment; much of the plastic waste eventually reaches the oceans. Plastic waste has more than doubled from 2015-16. It is feared that by 2050 there could be more plastic in the oceans than fish. A big chunk of plastic waste cannot be recycled because of a lack of segregation. Poor regulation has led to prohibited plastic from moving freely across State borders. A study revealed that of the top 100 global producers of polymers that culminate in plastic waste, six are based in India. The absence of a cohesive policy on segregation, collection and recycling of plastics is a major stumbling block towards eliminating single-use plastic. Plastic waste is known to damage land and water resources, worsen floods and contribute to climate change. Accounting for the world’s largest population, India is vulnerable to all these impacts.

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