Where does India stand on plastic waste?

A recent report by the Central Pollution Control Board pegs the amount of plastic waste
generated in India at 25, 940 tonnes per day. Per capita consumption of plastic is projected
to go up from 11 kg in 2014-15 to 20kg by 2022.

Moreover, 43% of the plastic in use is Single use packaging with poor rates of recovery.

To control this mounting problem Indian Govt. notified the Plastic waste Management Rules
2016. As per one of the provisions of these Rules, each State Pollution Control Board shall
prepare and submit the Annual Report to the CPCB on the implementation of these rules
every year. However inaction from many states made the CPCB approach the National
Green Tribunal to enforce the implementation of plastic waste management rules by the
non compliant states. Even the biggest Municipal Corporations have failed to implement
the segregation of waste, collecting recyclable plastic etc.

How to tackle this menace?

Keeping in view that introduction of biodegradable or compostable plastics on a large scale
has many limitations, a ban on Single use plastic surfaced as a priority now.

What are single -Use plastic items?

Also referred as disposable plastics they are commonly used for packaging items like food
packaging, grocery bags, containers etc. They have a higher carbon footprint and are more
resource and water intensive to produce.
Tackling Single use plastic is a challenge because:
1. Difficulty in collection:
Many times, the packaging is not effectively collected ending up on clogging rivers and other
water bodies.
2. Higher cost of collection: The design of such items is often a barrier for collection and
recycling.

However, in a recent effort India has pledged to phase out all single use plastics by 2022.
The protocol required before putting a ban on Single use plastic items:
1. A comprehensive mechanism has to be laid down to certify the materials marketed as
alternatives and the specific process required to biodegrade or compost them.
2. A movement against plastic waste would have to prioritise the reduction of single use
plastics such as multi layer packaging, bread bags, food wrap and protective packaging.
3. Focus of the campaign should be on biodegradable plates, cutlery etc.
4. Municipal authorities should play a key role on rigorous segregation of waste and focus
on recycling.
5. The packaging industry should look at innovation and new materials in near future to
completely ban the single use plastic.