Plastic ban in India proved eyewash only, says iGP

INDIA GREENS PARTY

Press Statement on the plastic ban in India

Issued at iGP NHO at Greendham Anandi-Chait, Unchir-Dunktok, Pauri Garhwal, Uttarakhand on 1 July 2023.

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The India Greens Party (iGP) is of the strong opinion that the partial ban on the single-use plastics in India last year has proved a farce only, and its honest implementation is hardly to be seen anywhere in the country.

The Government of India had put partial ban on some of the single-use or disposable plastic products on 1 July 2022 as part of a federal plan to phase out the ubiquitous material in the country. The ban came into effect despite companies extensively lobbying with the government to delay the transition, citing costly alternatives and their lack of easy availability.

The party feels that an extension of ban to other single-use plastic items such as sachets, pouches, wrappers and laminated tubes, etc, would have brought better relief.

Also, the share of plastics used for these banned single-use plastic items was less than 2-3 percent; and the prevailing ban covers only those items which have a low utility and high littering potential. These items are not widely used by large consumer companies and hence will have a limited impact for now.

After one year of the ban, it is proved that the ban is just an eyewash, and India remains the fifth highest country in terms of generation of plastic waste, with a discharge of 3.5 million tonnes (FY2020). On a per capita basis, India’s plastic waste generation almost doubled over the last few years.

Therefore, the only answer is a total ban on all single-use or disposable plastics to achieve the desired results.

Issued by the iGP Chief Spokesperson Suresh Nautiyal.

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(India Greens Party is registered with the Election Commission of India under Section 29A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951. Registration Number: 56/476/2018-19/PPS-I, effective from 18/07/2019.)

National Head Office: GreenDham AnandiChait, IndraBalbhadra Parisar, Unchir-Dunktok, SH-31, PO-Ghurdauri, Distt-Pauri Garhwal, Uttarakhand, INDIA. PIN-246194.

Email: contact@indiagreensparty.org Website: https://indiagreensparty.org