Candy sticks to earbuds: Govt bans single-use plastic from 2022

WHY IN THE NEWS?

The Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change has notified the Plastic Waste Management Amendment Rules, 2021.

Main Purpose of the Rules:

• The rules aim to prohibit the use of specific single-use plastic items which have “low utility and high littering potential” by 2022.

Key Provisions of the Rules:

Range of Plastics Banned:

• The manufacture, import, stocking, distribution, sale and use of the following single-use plastic commodities shall be prohibited with effect from the 1st July 2022:
  • Earbuds with plastic sticks, plastic sticks for balloons, plastic flags, candy sticks, ice-cream sticks, polystyrene [Thermocol] for decoration; 
  • Plates, cups, glasses, cutlery, wrapping or packaging films around sweet boxes, invitation cards,  and cigarette packets, plastic or PVC banners less than 100 micron, stirrers.

The thickness of Plastic bags:

• The permitted thickness of the plastic bags, currently 50 microns, will be increased to 75 microns from 30th September 2021, and to 120 microns from 31st December 2022.
• This is because plastic bags with higher thickness are more easily handled as waste and have higher recyclability.

Plastic Wastes not banned:

• Compostable Plastics: The ban will not apply to commodities made of compostable plastic.
  • Instead of using plastic made from petrochemicals and fossil fuels, compostable plastics are derived from renewable materials like corn, potato, and tapioca starches, cellulose, etc. These plastics are non-toxic and decompose back into carbon dioxide, water, and biomass when composted.

Plastic Packaging waste which is not covered under the phase-out of identified single-use plastic items should be collected and managed in an environmentally sustainable way through the Extended Producer Responsibility as per Plastic Waste Management Rules, 2016.

• Extended Producer Responsibility is a policy approach in which producers take responsibility for the management of the disposal of products they produce once those products are designated as no longer useful by consumers