Lok Sabha Question No. 4484 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2020-03-20
Subject: Single Use Plastic
Ministry: ENVIRONMENT,  FORESTS AND CLIMATE CHANGE
Asked by: Gautam Gambhir, Kotagiri Sridhar, Shobha Karandlaje

## GOVERN4MENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION No. 4484

TO BE ANSWERED ON 20.03.2020

## Single Use Plastic

## 4484.   SHRI GAUTAM GAMBHIR: SHRI SRIDHAR KOTAGIRI:

## KUMARI SHOBHA KARANDLAJE:

Will  the  Minister  of  ENVIRONMENT,  FOREST  AND  CLIMATE  CHANGE  be  pleased  to state:

- (a) whether there is no central definition of single use plastic which may adversely affect any sort of ban on such plastic;
- (b) if so, whether the Government is working on a legal definition of single use plastic and if so, the details thereof;
- (c) whether the Government plans to ban the use and sale of disposable items such as plastic cups, plates and other similar items, if so, the details thereof;
- (d) whether the Government has any policy to regulate the plastic generated by Fast Moving Consumer  Goods  (FMCG)  sector,  if  so,  the  details  thereof  and  the  mechanism  the Government has provided for packing of liquid or bio-degradable products;
- (e) the steps taken to provide economic incentives to encourage the uptake of eco-friendly and promote fit for purpose alternatives that do not cause more harm to environment; and
- (f) whether  the  Government  proposes  to  close  down  industries  manufacturing  single  use plastic  based  products,  if  so,  the  details  thereof  and  the  new  initiatives  taken  by  the Government to develop green alternativesto plastic?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER  OF  STATE  IN  THE  MINISTRY  OF  ENVIRONMENT,  FOREST  AND CLIMATE CHANGE (SHRI BABUL SUPRIYO )

(a) to  (c) For  the  purpose  of  definition,  plastic  which  is  commonly  used  for  packaging, carrying  or  dispensing  commodities  and  includes  items  intended  to  be  used  only  once  for  the same purpose before they are discarded can be termed as 'Single Use Plastic'.

The Government has notified Plastic Waste Management Rules, 2016. The Rules prohibits the use of carry bag made of virgin or recycled plastic less than fifty microns in thickness. Sachets made of plastic material for storing, packing or selling gutkha, tobacco and pan masala is also prohibited.Further, considering the high environmental cost associated with the use of single-use plastic, particularly the adverse effect on soil, water bodies and on marine environment, Hon'ble Prime  Minister  has  announced  India's  pledge  to  phase  out  Single-use  plastic  by  2022.  Many

States/UTs through their own notifications have also imposed partial or complete prohibition on the use of plastic carry bags/single use plastic. 23 States and 9 UTs have issued notifications/orders  introducing  regulations  pertaining  to  complete  ban  on  plastic  carry  bags and/or other single-use plastic items.

(d) to (f) The Government has notified Plastic Waste Management Rules, 2016. TheseRules  mandate  the  producers  and  the  brand  owners  to  work  out  modalities  for  waste collection  systems based on  the  principle  of  Extended  Producers Responsibility  (EPR). Producers,  importers  and  brand  owners  of  various  items,  including  Fast  Moving  Consumer Goods  (FMCGs),  who  introduce  such  products  in  the  marketneed  to  establish  a  system  for collection of used multi-layered plastic sachets, pouches or packaging,. Establishments are not directly incentivized for not using plastics, however, the producers, importers and brand owners are switching towards alternate packaging to reduce the EPR cost.

Food Safety and Standard Authority of India (FSSAI) is mandated for laying down science based standards for  articles  of  food  and  to  regulate  their  manufacture,  storage,  distribution,  sale  and import  to  ensure  availability  of  safe  and  wholesome  food  for  human  consumption.  In  this context, FSSAI has notified the Food Safety and Standards (Packaging) Regulations, 2018 which prescribe different packaging materials including plastics, used for the packaging of food articles and the food safety aspects from packaging perspective.

The  Plastic  Waste  Management  Rules,  2016  defines  the  norms  for  compostable  plastic  as  an ecologically sustainable and green alternative to plastics. The Rules prohibit the use of plastic bags with thickness less than 50 microns. However, the provision of thickness is not applicable to carry bags  made  up  of  compostable  plastic.  The  carry  bags  made  from  compostable  plastics  have  to conform to the Indian Standard: IS 17088:2008 titled as Specifications for Compostable Plastics.

While  CPCB  analyses  information  available  on  the  subject  of  bio-degradable/compostable plastics,  a  committee  has  been  constituted  by  Central  Institute  of  Plastics  Engineering  & Technology (CIPET) with respect  to research  and  development  for  Compostable/Biodegradable Technology on Plastic.

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