India to ban single-use plastics, but experts say more needs to be done to

India will ban most single-use plastics by next year as part of its efforts to cut pollution, but experts say move is just a first step to mitigate environmental impact .

central government of India announced the ban in August this year, following its 2019 resolution to tackle plastic pollution in the country. The ban on most single-use plastics will take effect on July 1, 2022.

Enforcement is essential for the ban to be effective, environmental activists told CNBC. New Delhi also needs to tackle important structural issues such as policies to regulate the use of alternatives to plastic, improve recycling and better manage waste sorting, they said.

Single-use plastics refer to disposable items like grocery bags, food wrappers, bottles and straws that are only used once before being thrown away, or sometimes recycled.

“They need to strengthen their systems on the ground to ensure compliance, ensure that this notification is applied across the industry and with various stakeholders,” Swati Singh Sambyal, an independent waste management expert, told CNBC. based in New Delhi.

Because plastic is cheap, lightweight, and easy to produce, it has led to a production boom over the past century, and the trend is expected to continue for decades to come, according to the United Nations.

But countries are now struggling to manage the amount of plastic waste they have generated.

About 60% of plastic waste in India is collected, which means the remaining 40% or 10,376 tonnes is not collected, according to Anoop Srivastava, director of the Foundation for the Campaign Against Plastic Pollution, a non-profit organization. which advocates policy changes to fight plastic waste. in India.

Independent waste pickers usually collect plastic waste from households or landfills for sale to recycling centers or plastic manufacturers for a small fee.

However, much of the plastics used in India have low economic value and are not collected for recycling, according to Suneel Pandey, director of environment and waste management at the Energy and Resources Institute (Teri) in New Delhi.

In turn, they are becoming a common source of air and water pollution, he told CNBC.

Countries, including India, are taking action to reduce the use of plastic by encouraging the use of biodegradable alternatives that are relatively less harmful to the environment.

For example, food vendors, restaurant chains, and some local businesses have started adopting biodegradable cloth or paper cutlery and bags..

However, there are currently “no guidelines in place for alternatives to plastics,” Sambyal said.

This could be a problem when the plastic ban goes into effect.

Sambyal said clear rules are needed to promote alternative options, which are expected to become commonplace in the future.

The new rules also lack guidelines on recycling.

Although around 60% of India’s plastic waste is recycled, experts fear that too much is due to “downcycling”. This refers to a process in which high-quality plastics are recycled into new, lower-quality plastics, such as plastic bottles made into polyester for clothing.

“Downcycling shortens the life of plastic. In its normal course, plastic can be recycled seven to eight times before it goes to an incineration plant … but if you downcycle, after one or two lives, he will have to be eliminated, ”said Pandey of Teri.

It is also essential to fight against waste sorting.

If general waste and biodegradable cutlery are disposed of together, it defeats the goal of using plastic alternatives, according to Sambyal.

“It is high time that source separation of household waste is vigorously implemented,” said Srivastava of the Foundation for the Campaign Against Plastic Pollution, referring to the waste management laws that are in place, but which are not followed closely.

Environmentalists generally agree that the ban is not sufficient on its own and must be backed up by other government initiatives and regulations.

The amount of plastic collected and recycled must be improved. This comes from regulating manufacturers and asking them to clearly mark the type of plastic used in a product, so that it can be recycled appropriately, Pandey said.

Besides improving recyclability, investment in research and development of alternatives should also be a priority.

Pandey explained that India is a large, price-sensitive market where alternatives to plastic could be produced in bulk and sold at affordable prices.

Several Indian states have introduced various restrictions on plastic bags and cutlery in the past, but most of them were not strictly enforced.

Still, the latest ban is a big step in India’s fight against landfills, marine and air pollution – and is in line with its broader environmental agenda, experts say.

In March, India said it was on track to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement on climate change, and added that it had voluntarily committed to reducing the intensity of emissions from greenhouse gas emissions from 33% to 35% by 2030.