Single Use Plastics
About Single Use Plastics:
- It amounts to single-use plastic objects that are thrown away.
- The highest percentages of plastic produced and used are:
- One of the largest percentages of plastic produced and used is single-use plastic, which includes food packaging, polythene bags, face masks, coffee cups, cling film, garbage bags, and bottles of shampoo, soap, and cosmetics.
- a third of the plastic produced globally is produced by:
- A 2021 research from the Minderoo Foundation, an Australian nonprofit, states that a third of all plastic produced worldwide is made of single-use plastics, of which 98 percent are made from fossil fuels.
- The majority of plastic that is thrown away, 130 million metric tonnes globally in 2019, comes from single-use plastic and is either burned, buried in landfills, or dumped into the environment.
Contribution to Greenhouse Gas Emissions:
- It has been estimated that by 2050, single-use plastic might be responsible for 5–10% of greenhouse gas emissions, depending on the production trajectory currently in place.
India-specific data:
- According to the survey, India, at number 94, is among the top 100 nations for producing single-use plastic garbage (the top three being Singapore, Australia and Oman).
- India produces 4 kg of single-use plastic garbage per person yearly, with 11.8 million metric tonnes produced domestically and 2.9 million tonnes imported.
Issues:
- The difficulties of collection and, consequently, recycling led to the selection of the first batch of single-use plastic items for the ban.
- Microplastics are created when plastic is left in the environment for a very long time without decomposing and then enters our food supply before eventually making its way into our bodies. This is incredibly dangerous.
- As much as 95% of all single-use plastic comes in the form of packaging, which includes everything from toothpaste to shaving cream to frozen foods.
- The fact that the things selected are low value, low turnover, and unlikely to have a significant economic impact could be a contributing factor.
How will the prohibition be put into effect?
- The State Pollution Control Boards (SPCBs), which will report to the Centre on a regular basis, and the CPCB from the Center will both monitor the prohibition.
- directions were given:
- At the national, state, and local levels, instructions have been given to all petrochemical companies, for instance, not to supply raw materials to businesses that manufacture the prohibited goods.
- Additionally, instructions have been given to SPCBs and Pollution Control Committees on how to change or cancel the permission to operate granted under the Air/Water Act to businesses that manufacture single-use plastic items.
- Local governments have been ordered to provide new commercial licences with the requirement that SUP items will not be sold on their premises and that any permits already in place would be revoked if it is discovered that they are doing so.
- Promoting Compostable and Biodegradable Plastics: The BIS passed standards for biodegradable plastic, and the CPCB gave one-time certificates to 200 manufacturers of compostable plastic.
- Penalty: Under the Environment Protection Act of 1986, anyone caught in violation of the ban is subject to a fine of up to Rs. 1 lakh, up to 5 years in prison, or both.
- The SPCB may also require violators to pay environmental damage compensation.
- Municipalities have rules governing plastic garbage and their own penal codes.
How do other nations handle single-use plastic?
- Declare Resolution:
- A resolution to draught a future agreement that will make it legally binding for the signatories to address the complete life of plastics from manufacture to disposal, to halt plastic pollution, was signed in 2022 by 124 parties to the United Nations Environment Assembly, including India.
- 68 nations had plastic bag bans in place as of July 2019 with various levels of enforcement.
Countries that forbid plastic use:
- Bangladesh: In 2002, Bangladesh was the first nation to outlaw thin plastic bags.
- New Zealand: In July 2019, New Zealand became the most recent nation to outlaw plastic bags.
- China: China announced a phased-in ban on plastic bags in 2020.
- US: Eight US states, starting with California in 2014, have outlawed single-use plastic bags. In 2018, Seattle became the first significant US city to outlaw plastic straws.
- The Single-Use Plastics Directive entered into force in the European Union on July 1, 2021. (EU).
- According to the directive, some single-use plastics for which there are substitutes are prohibited from being sold in EU member states. This includes single-use plastic plates, cutlery, straws, balloon sticks, and cotton buds.
- The same policy is applied to cups, expanded polystyrene food and drink containers, and all products made of oxo-degradable plastic.