Demand, supply interventions for SUP ban

A special drive launched by the Central Pollution Control Board for enforcement of the prohibition on Single Use Plastics (SUP) detecting over 4,000 violations in just three days reveals a yawning gap between target and execution of the policy aimed at phasing out SUP. Scaling up the awareness drive at the community level, in addition to strengthening enforcement and monitoring, is critical to bridging the gap. Seizure of 46 tonnes of SUP items during 20,036 inspections across the country, including 6,448 inspections by CPCB teams leading to observation of 4,000 violations during October 17-19, could be the tip of an iceberg. A sustained inspection is required to enforce the prohibition which is aimed at reducing plastic pollution. The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) clamped a ban on production, sale, stocking, distribution, import and usage of identified SUP items including cutlery items, thin packaging films, candy and ice cream sticks with effect from July1. Many of these prohibited items, more particularly thin polythene bags, returning to wholesale markets, commercial places, retail vegetable and fish markets, street vending business and shops point towards failure of the State Pollution Control Boards, civic bodies, state governments to put in place a strong and effective monitoring mechanism to ensure enforcement of the ban. A large section of people who are aware of the importance of phasing out the polluting SUP items for reducing plastic pollution welcomed the prohibition and in the initial period of the ban, circulation of the prohibited items including the plastic carry bags declined significantly in markets and shops in Guwahati and other places. Many people could be seen carrying their own bags from home for shopping and marketing and making best efforts to give up the habit of going to markets and shops without a bag and asking for plastic carry bags of prohibited thickness for carrying home vegetables, fish, meat, grocery items bought by them. Old habits die hard, and a large number of market-goers stopped carrying bags from home after finding that plastic carry bags are easily available in adequate quantities as in the days prior to enforcement of the ban. Official estimates by MoEFCC and NITI Aayog about impact of Lifestyle for Environment (LIFE) mission launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday show that using a cloth bag instead of a plastic bag while shopping can save up to 375 million tonnes of solid waste from entering the landfill sites. The challenge for government is to carry this message to every single household so that people realise that without behavioural changes plastic carry bags will continue to flood the markets due to high demand. The Comprehensive Action Plan for phasing out SUP has provision for supply side interventions which include stopping supply of plastic raw material, stopping manufacturing of banned SUP items and stopping selling of banned SUP items, while demand side interventions envisage stopping usage of banned SUP items. The CPCB claims that retailers, wholesalers, and factories engaged in manufacturing SUP items have been traced and huge cache of the banned items seized during the inspections. It also claims that checks are being carried out at inter-state borders to prevent inter-state transportation of banned SUP items, but unhindered circulation of prohibited SUP punctures holes into such claims and call for stricter measures. The CPCB issued instructions to manufacturers to stop raw material supplies to SUP producers and other stakeholders and detection of manufacturing of prohibited items continuing in some places speak volumes about the lack of regular inspections to ascertain compliance. The third component of the action plant is initiating enabling measures for promoting alternatives to SUP. Such measures include certification of compostable plastic manufacturers and promoting manufacture of most SUP items including straw, cutlery items, thin packaging films, carry bags etc., using compostable plastics. The Plastic Waste Management Rules define compostable plastic as "plastic that undergoes degradation by biological processes during composting to yield CO2, water, inorganic compounds and biomass at a rate consistent with other known compostable materials, excluding conventional petro-based plastics, and does not leave visible, distinguishable or toxic residue." About 200 manufacturers certified by CPCB have capacity of manufacturing compostable plastics of 30,00,00 tonnes per annum. The CPCB issues one-time certificate to all compostable plastic manufacturers and these certificates do not require renewal in line with ease-of-doing business policy. The number of certified compostable plastics manufacturers is quite less compared to 88,000 units manufacturing SUP and employing about one million people. As awareness level among the general masses about harmful impact of SUP is very poor, the demand and supply side interventions cannot be expected to produce the desired results without availability of the alternatives. Promotion of biodegradable tableware made from areca nut leaf and bamboo-based alternatives can also strengthen the local economy in regions like the Northeast, while ensuring environmentally sustainable solutions.