In News: With the ban on single-use plastic coming into force on July 1, the government will be setting up control rooms at national and state levels to ensure its effective enforcement.
Apart from the control rooms, which will be supervised by the Central Pollution Control Board, special enforcement teams will be formed to check illegal manufacture, import, stocking, distribution, sale and use of the 12 banned single-use plastic items.
States and Union Territories have been asked to set up border check points to stop inter-state movement of any banned single-use plastic item.
The list of banned items include ear buds with plastic sticks, plastic sticks for balloons, plastic flags, candy sticks, ice-cream sticks, polystyrene (thermocol) for decoration, plastic plates, cups, glasses, cutlery such as forks, spoons, knives, straw, trays, wrapping or packing films around sweet boxes, invitation cards, cigarette packets, plastic or PVC banners less than 100 micron, stirrers.
The items have been chosen on the basis of three criteria – their low utility, high littering potential and availability of alternative materials.
Stats
According to the CPCB, plastic waste generation in 2020-21 was 41,26,997 tonnes, while per capita waste generation was 3 kg per annum.
Characterization of plastic waste in 18 cities has found that the percentage of single-use plastic in total plastic waste is between 10% and 35 %.
The government has over the past year focused on encouraging industry and MSMEs to come up with alternatives to plastic, including biodegradable plastic and compostable plastic.
