‘Cigarettes Butts’ among the 12 Plastic Items to be Banned by Government of India

The Government of India has already waged a war on the single-use plastic and is planning to impose an initial ban on 12 items, which includes small plastic bottles used for soft drinks and beverages, thermocol mainly used for decoration and cigarette butts.

The government has made it clear that their intentions of the complete ban of the single-use plastic, but is yet to come up with a timeline to enforce it, but government sources said that it would be banned in a phased manner.

The government has also compiled a list of items that are initially selected and would be proposed for banning by the Central Pollution Control Board. 

The list of single-use plastic items includes, thin carry bags (less than 50 microns), non woven carry bags, small wrapping or packing films, straws and stirrers, cutlery such as foamed cups, bowls and plates, laminated bows and plates, small plastic cups and containers that is less than 150 ml and 5 grams, plastic sticks that are used as earbuds, balloons, plastic flags, expanded polystyrene, small plastics used for beverages and roadside flex banners (that must be less than 100 microns) and cigarette butts.

The country’s top anti-pollution body Central Pollution Control Board is now preparing a road map that would completely eliminate single-use plastic, which is harmful for the environment and its habitant by 2022. 

The plastic industry has been asked to submit their suggestions on the alternatives of these items by the coming week. According to industry leaders, the PET plastic bottle industry alone is worth Rs. 7.5 lakh crore business.

Dinesh Bharti, a businessman who owns plastic cutlery factories in Delhi and Punjab, has put on hold his expansion plans after the declaration by the government. Meanwhile, small businessman like Suraj, who sells laces and buttons at a shop in Delhi, says he has already switched over to paper and cloth bags. Speaking to NDTV he said, “We will do what the government tells us. We have no option but to comply”.

There are also concerns that a ban on single-use plastic will lead to massive job losses in the country. Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public distribution, Ram Vilas Paswan though put aside those fears, saying that, “new alternatives to plastic will also create new job opportunities”.

In his Independence Day Speech, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said that the first step towards freeing India from single-use plastic will be taken on October 2, the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.