Lok Sabha Question No. 2558 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-03-16
Subject: Plastic Waste Management
Ministry: HOUSING AND URBAN AFFAIRS
Asked by: Pradeep Kumar Singh, Geeta Kora, Parbatbhai Savabhai Patel, Jugal Kishore Sharma, Riti Pathak

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF HOUSING AND URBAN AFFAIRS

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2558

## TO BE ANSWERED ON MARCH 16, 2023 PLASTIC WASTE MANAGEMENT

NO. 2558.  SHRI PRADEEP KUMAR SINGH: SHRIMATI GEETA KORA: SHRI PARBATBHAI SAVABHAI PATEL: SHRI JUGAL KISHORE SHARMA:

SHRIMATI RITI PATHAK:

Will  the  Minister  for  HOUSING  AND  URBAN  AFFAIRS  be  pleased  to state:

- (a) the  measures  being  taken  by  the  Government  upon  the  issue  of plastic waste management under Swachh Bharat Mission 2.0;
- (b) the  measures  taken  by  the  Government  to  effectively  ban  plastic waste for achieving the objective of plastic waste free cities in the entire  country,  including  in  Jammu  &  Kashmir,  Madhya  Pradesh, Bihar and Gujarat, particularly Jammu, Sidhi, Araria and Banaskantha respectively in the said States; and
- (c) the efforts being made by the Government to find out a sustainable economic and accessible alternatives for plastic?

## ANSWER

## THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF HOUSING AND URBAN AFFAIRS

(SHRI KAUSHAL KISHORE)

(a) :  Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban (SBM-U) 2.0 lays special emphasis on reduction of plastic waste generation and compliance of Plastic Waste Management  (PWM)  Rules  dated  12.08.2021.  Key  focus  areas  include source segregation of waste; segregated collection and transportation; processing of segregated waste; setting up of Material Recovery Facility (MRF)  in  all  ULBs;  continuous    awareness    generation  for    reducing Single  Use Plastic (SUP) and use of substitute products. In addition, the following initiatives have been taken:

- (i). Additional Central  Assistance  (ACA)  to  States  and  Union Territories (UTs) is released for establishing Solid Waste Management (SWM) projects for processing of all kinds of waste,
- (ii).  A  'Plastic  Waste  Management  Advisory'  has  been  developed capturing the plastic waste generation, plastic waste management rules  and  various  ways  to  manage  plastic  waste  through  reduce, reuse, recycle and recovery techniques;
- (iii).  'Swachh  Survekshan'  and  'Star  Rating  Protocol'  have  been introduced which have been aligned with Plastic Waste Management (amendment) Rules 2021 to encourage cities to phase out single-use plastic, etc.
- (b) : As  reported  by  Ministry  of  Environment  &  Forests  and  Climate Change (MoEF&CC), identified single use plastic items, which have low utility  and  high  littering  potential,  have  already  been  prohibited,  with effect from 1st July, 2022, vide Plastic Waste Management Amendment Rules, 2021, notified on 12th August 2021.

MoEF&CC  has  notified the Guidelines on Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) for plastic packaging vide Plastic Waste Management (Amendment) Rules, 2022, on 16th February 2022.

All States/UTs have constituted the Special Task Force (STF) under the chairpersonship of the Chief Secretary / Administrator for elimination of identified single use  plastic items and  effective plastic  waste management  and  development  of  comprehensive  action  plan  in  this regard.  A  National  Level  Taskforce  has  also  been  constituted  by  the Ministry for taking coordinated efforts to eliminate identified single use plastic items and effective implementation of Plastic Waste Management Rules, 2016.

For  effective  monitoring  of  ban  on  identified  single  use  plastic (SUP)  items  and  plastic  waste  management  in  the  country,  online platforms that are in operation are National Dashboard on elimination of single  use  plastics  and  effective  plastic  waste  management;  Central Pollution  Control  Board  (CPCB)  Monitoring  Module  for  Compliance  on

Elimination of Single Use Plastic and CPCB Grievance Redressal App.

Regular enforcement drives have been undertaken by CPCB, State Pollution Control Board (SPCBs)/ Pollution Control Committees (PCCs) to implement ban on identified single use plastic items and on plastic carry bags having thickness less than one hundred twenty microns.

(c) :   To  develop  alternatives  to  single  use  plastics,  the  MoEF&CC organized 'India Plastic Challenge - Hackathon 2021'. Two Start-ups in the area of alternatives to single use plastics were awarded in the India Plastic Challenge Hackathon 2021. A National Expo on Eco-Alternatives to single use plastic and Startup Conference was organized on 26 th  and 27 th  September, 2022 in Chennai by MoEF&CC and Government of Tamil Nadu  in  which  more  than  150  manufacturers  of  eco-alternatives  from across  the  country  have  participated.  The  eco-alternatives  included material  made  from  sea-weed,  bagasse,  rice  and  wheat  bran,  rice stubble,  plant  and  agricultural  residue,  banana  and  areca  leaves,  jute and cloth. The list of  manufacturers of eco-alternatives is available on National  Dashboard  on  elimination  of  single  use  plastics  and  effective plastic waste management.

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