Dr.Vivak M Arya, Divya Sharma
As the name suggests, it refers to plastic items that are used once and discarded. In simplest terms, single-use plastics are products that are created mostly from chemicals derived from fossil fuels (petrochemicals) and are intended to be thrown away immediately after use – often in a matter of minutes. Plastic containers, straws, coffee stirrers, soft drink and water bottles, and the majority of food packaging are examples of these goods. About 300 million tonnes of plastic are produced annually, and half of it is thrownaway. Only 10% to 13% of plastic products are recycled globally. Disposable plastic made from petroleum is difficult to recycle because of its nature; in order to do so, fresh virgin ingredients and chemicals must be added. Furthermore, there are just a few products for which recovered plastic may be used.
Plastic Menace
Plastic’s carbon footprint is decreased by recycling more of it more often. One of the most often recycled polymers, polyethylene terephthalate, which is used to produce most water and soda bottles, may be used to make anything from polyester fabric to automobile parts. However, a staggering 91% of all plastic is not recycled at all. Instead, it finds its way into the environment or landfills. Particularly small objects like straws, bags, and cutlery are traditionally difficult to recycle because they get caught in the cracks of recycling equipment and are frequently rejected by recycling facilities. Plastics just break up when left unattended; they don’t actually degrade. Plastics steadily break up into tiny pieces over time in the sun’s heat, eventually becoming microplastics. They wind up in the water, getting eaten by animals, and getting inside of us. Even the isolated Pyrenees mountain range and the Mariana Trench’s base have been reached by them. Microplastics pose a particular threat to animals since they can quickly amass inside an animal’s body after ingestion and result in health problems including pierced organs or fatal gastrointestinal blockages.
Merely ten rivers carry 93% of the total quantity of plastics that reaches the oceans through rivers each year, making our waterways’ plastic pollution extremely dense. This overflow of trash into marine environments burdens marine species. Whales that had washed up on beaches have had stomachs full of plastic waste. Additionally, ninety per cent of the seabirds investigated and 100 per cent of the turtles had plastic in their stomachs, according to recent studies. Alarmingly, according to scientific predictions, there’ll be more plastic in the ocean by mass than fish in 2050. Moreover, single use plastic account for huge green house gas emission.
Cause of Concern for Humans
Our health is negatively impacted by microplastic exposures as well as by the chemical additives to plastics during manufacturing. Research suggests that exposure to so many of the chemicals in plastic, termed endocrine disruptors, may have negative health effects on humans, including hormone abnormalities, reproductive issues like sterility, and sometimes even cancer. A recent study has found that people eat five grams of micro and nano plastics every week. From the most remote depths of the ocean to the deepest section of the lung, microplastics appear to have invaded every bit of our lives, including the human gastrointestinal tract. Even study published in prestigious medical journal reported that micro plastic have entered the blood stream of human and are damaging the DNA
Status
As per the Minderoo Foundation report 2021, single-use plastics account for a third of all plastic produced globally, with 98% manufactured from fossil fuels.India features in the top 100 countries of single-use plastic (SUP) waste generation – at rank 94 (the top three being Singapore, Australia and Oman).India’s domestic production of SUP is 8 million metric tonnes annually, and its import of 2.9 MMT. India’s per capita generation is 4 kg. The largest share of single-use plastic is that of packaging – with as much as 95% of single-use belonging to this category – from toothpaste to shaving cream to frozen foods.At the 4th United Nations Environment Assembly in 2019, India piloted a resolution on addressing single-use plastic products pollution. The Prime Minister of India was also conferred the “champions of the earth” award by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in 2018 for pledging to eliminate all single-use plastic by 2022.
Single use plastic ban
In September 2021, the Ministry already prohibited polythene bags smaller than 75 microns; the previous maximum was 50 microns. Beginning in December, polythene bags smaller than 120 microns were also prohibited. The Plastic Waste Management Rules, 2016, also completely forbid the use of sachets to store, package, or sell gutkha, tobacco, or pan masala. As of new rules implementing on July 1 2022, the manufacture, import, stocking, distribution, sale and use of the identified single-use plastic is prohibited w.e.f. 1st July, 2022. For banning other plastic commodities in the future, other than those that have been listed in this notification, the government has given industry ten years from the date of notification for compliance. However, the ban will not apply to commodities made of compostable plastic.
Instead of using plastic made from petrochemicals and fossil fuels, compostable plastics are derived from renewable materials like corn, potato, and tapioca starches, cellulose, soy protein, and lactic acid. These are non-toxic and decompose back into carbon dioxide, water, and biomass when composted.
As per the ministry: The choice for the first set of single-use plastic items for the ban was based on “difficulty of collection, and therefore recycling”.The ban will be enforced by a mechanism comprising of many steps and agencies working cohesively viz; Monitoring by CPCB, stopping raw materials supply, directions to industries, fresh licensing required, encouraging compostable plastics and penalty for those who are violating the ban under the Environment Protection Act 1986 – which allows for imprisonment up to 5 years, or a penalty up to Rs 1 lakh, or both. Violators can also be asked to pay Environmental Damage Compensation by the SPCB.Various initiatives and scehemes are also quite helpful in curbing plastic waste like Swachh Bharat Mission, India Plastics Pact, Project REPLAN, Un-Plastic Collective, Golitter Partnerships Project
Way Forward
* Sustainable Alternatives: Economically affordable and ecologically viable alternatives which will not burden the resources needed and their prices will also come down with time and increase in demand.Need to promote alternatives like cotton, khadi bags and biodegradable plastics.
* Circular Economy: Countries must embrace circular and sustainable economic practices throughout the plastics value chain to reduce plastic pollution. A circular economy depends on reuse, sharing, repair, refurbishment, remanufacturing and recycling of resources to create a closed-loop system, minimising the use of resources, generation of waste, pollution and carbon emissions.
* Behavioural Change: Citizens have to bring behavioural change and contribute by not littering and helping in waste segregation and waste management.
* Extended Producer Responsibility: At the policy level, the concept of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), already mentioned under the 2016 Rules, has to be promoted.
EPR is a policy approach under which producers are given a significant responsibility – financial and/or physical – for the treatment or disposal of post-consumer products.
(The authors are working in the field climate change and NRM at SKUAST-J)
As the name suggests, it refers to plastic items that are used once and discarded. In simplest terms, single-use plastics are products that are created mostly from chemicals derived from fossil fuels (petrochemicals) and are intended to be thrown away immediately after use – often in a matter of minutes. Plastic containers, straws, coffee stirrers, soft drink and water bottles, and the majority of food packaging are examples of these goods. About 300 million tonnes of plastic are produced annually, and half of it is thrownaway. Only 10% to 13% of plastic products are recycled globally. Disposable plastic made from petroleum is difficult to recycle because of its nature; in order to do so, fresh virgin ingredients and chemicals must be added. Furthermore, there are just a few products for which recovered plastic may be used.
Plastic Menace
Plastic’s carbon footprint is decreased by recycling more of it more often. One of the most often recycled polymers, polyethylene terephthalate, which is used to produce most water and soda bottles, may be used to make anything from polyester fabric to automobile parts. However, a staggering 91% of all plastic is not recycled at all. Instead, it finds its way into the environment or landfills. Particularly small objects like straws, bags, and cutlery are traditionally difficult to recycle because they get caught in the cracks of recycling equipment and are frequently rejected by recycling facilities. Plastics just break up when left unattended; they don’t actually degrade. Plastics steadily break up into tiny pieces over time in the sun’s heat, eventually becoming microplastics. They wind up in the water, getting eaten by animals, and getting inside of us. Even the isolated Pyrenees mountain range and the Mariana Trench’s base have been reached by them. Microplastics pose a particular threat to animals since they can quickly amass inside an animal’s body after ingestion and result in health problems including pierced organs or fatal gastrointestinal blockages.
Merely ten rivers carry 93% of the total quantity of plastics that reaches the oceans through rivers each year, making our waterways’ plastic pollution extremely dense. This overflow of trash into marine environments burdens marine species. Whales that had washed up on beaches have had stomachs full of plastic waste. Additionally, ninety per cent of the seabirds investigated and 100 per cent of the turtles had plastic in their stomachs, according to recent studies. Alarmingly, according to scientific predictions, there’ll be more plastic in the ocean by mass than fish in 2050. Moreover, single use plastic account for huge green house gas emission.
Cause of Concern for Humans
Our health is negatively impacted by microplastic exposures as well as by the chemical additives to plastics during manufacturing. Research suggests that exposure to so many of the chemicals in plastic, termed endocrine disruptors, may have negative health effects on humans, including hormone abnormalities, reproductive issues like sterility, and sometimes even cancer. A recent study has found that people eat five grams of micro and nano plastics every week. From the most remote depths of the ocean to the deepest section of the lung, microplastics appear to have invaded every bit of our lives, including the human gastrointestinal tract. Even study published in prestigious medical journal reported that micro plastic have entered the blood stream of human and are damaging the DNA
Status
As per the Minderoo Foundation report 2021, single-use plastics account for a third of all plastic produced globally, with 98% manufactured from fossil fuels.India features in the top 100 countries of single-use plastic (SUP) waste generation – at rank 94 (the top three being Singapore, Australia and Oman).India’s domestic production of SUP is 8 million metric tonnes annually, and its import of 2.9 MMT. India’s per capita generation is 4 kg. The largest share of single-use plastic is that of packaging – with as much as 95% of single-use belonging to this category – from toothpaste to shaving cream to frozen foods.At the 4th United Nations Environment Assembly in 2019, India piloted a resolution on addressing single-use plastic products pollution. The Prime Minister of India was also conferred the “champions of the earth” award by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in 2018 for pledging to eliminate all single-use plastic by 2022.
Single use plastic ban
In September 2021, the Ministry already prohibited polythene bags smaller than 75 microns; the previous maximum was 50 microns. Beginning in December, polythene bags smaller than 120 microns were also prohibited. The Plastic Waste Management Rules, 2016, also completely forbid the use of sachets to store, package, or sell gutkha, tobacco, or pan masala. As of new rules implementing on July 1 2022, the manufacture, import, stocking, distribution, sale and use of the identified single-use plastic is prohibited w.e.f. 1st July, 2022. For banning other plastic commodities in the future, other than those that have been listed in this notification, the government has given industry ten years from the date of notification for compliance. However, the ban will not apply to commodities made of compostable plastic.
Instead of using plastic made from petrochemicals and fossil fuels, compostable plastics are derived from renewable materials like corn, potato, and tapioca starches, cellulose, soy protein, and lactic acid. These are non-toxic and decompose back into carbon dioxide, water, and biomass when composted.
As per the ministry: The choice for the first set of single-use plastic items for the ban was based on “difficulty of collection, and therefore recycling”.The ban will be enforced by a mechanism comprising of many steps and agencies working cohesively viz; Monitoring by CPCB, stopping raw materials supply, directions to industries, fresh licensing required, encouraging compostable plastics and penalty for those who are violating the ban under the Environment Protection Act 1986 – which allows for imprisonment up to 5 years, or a penalty up to Rs 1 lakh, or both. Violators can also be asked to pay Environmental Damage Compensation by the SPCB.Various initiatives and scehemes are also quite helpful in curbing plastic waste like Swachh Bharat Mission, India Plastics Pact, Project REPLAN, Un-Plastic Collective, Golitter Partnerships Project
Way Forward
* Sustainable Alternatives: Economically affordable and ecologically viable alternatives which will not burden the resources needed and their prices will also come down with time and increase in demand.Need to promote alternatives like cotton, khadi bags and biodegradable plastics.
* Circular Economy: Countries must embrace circular and sustainable economic practices throughout the plastics value chain to reduce plastic pollution. A circular economy depends on reuse, sharing, repair, refurbishment, remanufacturing and recycling of resources to create a closed-loop system, minimising the use of resources, generation of waste, pollution and carbon emissions.
* Behavioural Change: Citizens have to bring behavioural change and contribute by not littering and helping in waste segregation and waste management.
* Extended Producer Responsibility: At the policy level, the concept of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), already mentioned under the 2016 Rules, has to be promoted.
EPR is a policy approach under which producers are given a significant responsibility – financial and/or physical – for the treatment or disposal of post-consumer products.
(The authors are working in the field climate change and NRM at SKUAST-J)
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