Lok Sabha Question No. 99 (STARRED), answered on 2019-11-22
Subject: Ban on Single-use Plastics
Ministry: ENVIRONMENT,  FORESTS AND CLIMATE CHANGE
Asked by: Dayakar Pasunoori, Venkatesh Netha Borlakunta

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE

## LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION No. †*99

TO BE ANSWERED ON 22.11.2019

## Ban on Single-use Plastics

## *99. SHRI PASUNOORI DAYAKAR: SHRI VENKATESH NETHABORLAKUNTA:

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

- (a) whether the Government has launched a campaign to make India free of single-use plastics;
- (b) if  so,  the  details  thereof  along  with  the  steps  taken  and  various  public  awareness campaigns launched to stop the use of such plastics;
- (c) the  progress  made  and  response  received  from  various  quarters  including  the  State Governments  so  far  along  with  the  institutions  and  administrative  departments working for such campaigns;
- (d) whether the Government had formulated any law in the past to stop plastic pollution, if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor; and
- (e) whether the  plastic  industry  has  sought  tax  benefits  and  export  schemes  for  Micro, Small  and  Medium  Enterprises  and  if  so,  the  details  thereof  and  the  action  taken thereon?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER FOR ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE (SHRI PRAKASH JAVADEKAR)

- (a) to (e): A statement is laid on the Table of the House.

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## Statement referred to in reply to parts (a) to (e) of Lok Sabha Starred Question No. 99 to be answered on Friday, the 22 nd November, 2019 on 'Ban on Single-use Plastics' by Shri Pasunoori Dayakar and Shri Venkatesh Nethaborlakunta

(a) to (c) With  revolution  of  Indian  economy,  demand  for  products  also  increased. Among the various factors driving this growth, one of the most significant factor is increasing use of plastics by the Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) sector. Plastic emerged as one of the most durable, strong, less reactive material which is also light weight. The properties of plastic are such that the raw material is very cheap and the commodities made of plastic are very  easy  to  make.  All  this  factors  make  the  plastic  one  of  the  most  reliable  packaging material for the industries. Further, with emerging technologies and increased consumerism, plastic entered into all aspects of lifestyle making the life easier and simpler. The trends of using plastic in day to day life became so fast that most of the plastic which is produced is designed  to  be  thrown  away  after  being  used  only  once.  This  type  of  plastic,  which  is commonly  used  for  packaging,  carrying  or  dispensing  the  commodities  and  include  items intended to be used only once before they are discarded can be termed as 'Single Use Plastic' for ease of understanding.

As an outcome of this demand by consumers and increasing production and use of Single Use Plastic,  a  situation  has  arrived  where  the  existing  waste  management  system  has  to  be strengthened to make the country free of Single Use Plastic.

Considering the high environmental costs associated with management of single-use plastics, particularly the adverse effect on marine environment, and the need for a definitive response supplementing  actions  undertaken  by  various  States/UTs  to  combat  single-use  plastic pollution,  Hon'ble  Prime  Minister  has  announced  India's  pledge  to  phase  out  Single-use plastic by 2022.

As pronounced by Hon'ble Prime Minister, the Ministry is working on the principle of 6R's (Reduce,  Reuse,  Recycle,  Recover,  Redesign  and  Remanufacture.)  to  combat  with  plastic pollution. In this perspective and to promote ecologically sustainable and green alternatives of plastics, the Ministry has subsequently issued 'Standard Guidelines on Single Use Plastic' with  suggested  different  set  of  actions  for  State/UT  Government  to  minimize  the  usage  of single use plastics.

Further, on the call of Hon'ble Prime Minister, a three-phase campaign 'Swachhta Hi Sewa' (SHS) was launched from 11th Sep, 2019, which ended on Diwali i.e. 27th October 2019. This  campaign  inter-alia  focused  on  awareness,  advocacy,  collection  and  safe  disposal  of littered plastic.

Under the campaign,all stakeholdersi.e. general public, students, industry, governments and local bodies came together and collectedwasteplastic from houses, streets, public places like parks,  beaches,  markets,  religious  and  tourist  places  etc.  Urban  Local  Bodies,  Gram Panchayats, Government organisations and others made arrangements to deposit the collected plastic waste at designated locations for recycling.Start-ups, technical bodies and corporates came forward with their plans to recycle the collected waste. Eventual goal of the campaign was  that  the  plastic  waste  is  not  dumped  on  land  or  into  water  but  is  recycled  in environmentally  sound  manner.  The  campaign  has  achieved  its  near-term  goal  of  creating awareness on the menace of plastic pollution. Emerging out of the above campaign, the local bodies and States have set up systems for collection and safe disposal of such waste.

(d) The Government has notified Plastic Waste Management Rules, 2016 for environmentally sound management of plastic waste and to prevent plastic pollution in the country.  The  generators  of  waste  under  the  Rules  have  been  mandated  to  take  steps  to minimize generation of plastic waste, not to litter plastic waste, ensure segregated storage of waste at source and handover the segregated waste to the local bodies or agencies authorised by them or registered waste pickers or registered recyclers. For proper regulation and sound recycling of plastic, provisions have been made for registration of all plastic recyclers with respective State/UT Pollution Control Boards/Committees.Every Urban Local body has been made responsible for setting up of infrastructure for collection, segregation and processing, including recycling and disposal of plastic waste. The local bodies have also been mandated to create awareness among all stakeholders about their respective responsibilities.

(e) Representations are received for various small and medium enterprises for exemptions from the obligations  under the mechanism of Extended Producers Responsibility (EPR) as introduced in the Plastic Waste Management Rules, 2016. Their suggestion was that small producers  less  than  1000  metric  tons  of  material  or  having  turnover  up  to  25  Crores  be excluded from the EPR responsibilities, except for lump sum fee based on total turnover.

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