The landfills and garbage heaps are increasing every year all around the country. In between all the increasing heaps and pollution, the government announced the ban on single-use plastic from 1 July 2022. The Central Pollution Control Board presented some measures on 18 June 2022. The measures are on identifying such plastics and banning them used in manufacturing, distribution, stocking, selling, and importing.
Here’s Why India Is Putting A Ban On Single-Use Plastic From 1 July
Single-use plastic items are very harmful to the environment as they are discarded after a single use and also have low utility potential. Some most commonly used products in this plastic category are straws, plastic bags, food containers and single-use cutlery, wrappers, packaging, single-use cups, and so much more. A massive percentage of discarded plastic is single-use plastic items. With the increase in landfills, the items are burnt and buried which leads to extreme pollution.
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As per a report by Minderoo Foundation in 2021, India falls in the list of the top 100 countries that are generating a huge amount of single-use plastic waste. India sits at the 94th rank. This report also implies that if the waste generation of these items continues at this trajectory, then it can comprise almost 5%-10% of greenhouse gas emissions in the coming decades by the year 2050. The decision came into action for single-use plastics because they are a lot difficult to recycle. These do not break down and decay and hence they result to be very hazardous to nature and the lives. Also, these are very hard to collect, recycle, and are mostly smaller in size. Hence, the government decided to put a ban on them first.
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India Banned Plastics Previously Too!
It was September 2021 when the Indian Ministry put a ban on plastic bags under 75 microns. In the coming future, this ban will be implemented on polythene bags under 120 microns as well. The reason behind putting a ban ‘one at a time’ is for the companies and manufacturers to get extra time in hand to move to manufacture better quality bags. They will have the time to make easily recyclable bags.