Lok Sabha Question No. 1889 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2021-07-30
Subject: Biodegradable Plastics
Ministry: ENVIRONMENT,  FORESTS AND CLIMATE CHANGE
Asked by: L.S. Tejasvi Surya, Prathap Simha, Umesh G. Jadhav, Annasaheb Shankar Jolle

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

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION No. 1889

TO BE ANSWERED ON 30.07.2021

## Biodegradable Plastics

1889. SHRI L.S. TEJASVI SURYA: SHRI PRATHAP SIMHA: DR. UMESH G. JADHAV: SHRI ANNASAHEB SHANKAR JOLLE:

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

- (a) whether the Government proposes to initiate Compostable and Biodegradable plastics as an alternative to Petro-plastics in the manufacturing and packaging sectors and if so, the details thereof;
- (b) whether the Government has been running any public awareness campaign to promote the use of Bioplastics;
- (c) if so,  the  details  of  institutions  and  administrative  departments  engaged  in  such campaign;
- (d) whether any law has been formulated/ passed by the Government in the recent past to promote the use of Bio-plastics; and
- (e) if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER  OF  STATE  IN  THE  MINISTRY  OF  ENVIRONMENT,  FOREST  AND CLIMATE CHANGE (SHRI ASHWINI KUMAR CHOUBEY)

(a) to (e): As  per  Plastic  Waste  Management  Rules,  2016,  the  provision  of  thickness applicable on carry bags made of virgin and recycled plastic shall not be applicable to carry bags made up of compostable plastic. The carry bags made from compostable plastics shall conform to  the  Indian  Standard:  IS  17088:2008  titled  as  Specifications  for  Compostable  Plastics,  as amended from time to time. The manufacturers or seller of compostable plastic carry bags shall obtain a certificate from the Central Pollution Control Board before marketing or selling.

The  Central  Pollution  Control  Board  has  developed  Standard  Operating  Procedure  (SOP)  for issuing of Certificates to manufacturers/seller of Compostable plastic/products.  Online portal for certification of Manufacturers/Seller has also been developed by CPCB. Total 163 Certificates have been issued to Compostable Manufacturers/Sellers till date by CPCB. The certified capacity has  increased  substantially,  from  nil  in  2016  to  280000  Tonnes  per  annum  which  addresses approximately 8% of the total plastic waste generated in the country.

The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change had also issued a notification in the Gazette  of  India  vide  GSR  No.  169  (E)  on  11 th March  2021  containing  draft  provisions  for amending Plastic  Waste  Management  Rules,  2016,  inter  alia  prohibiting  the  use  of  identified single use plastic items, which have low utility and high littering potential by 2022, for public consultation.

As per the notification containing draft provisions, the manufacture, import, stocking, distribution, sale and use of the following identified single use plastic items are proposed to be prohibited as per schedule given below

|   S. No. | Items                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        | Phase out date   |
|----------|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|------------------|
|        1 | Carry bag made of virgin or recycled plastic less than120 microns in thickness                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               | 30.09.2021       |
|        2 | Non-woven plastic carry bag less than 60 GSM (Gram per square meter) or 240 microns in thickness                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             | 30.09.2021       |
|        3 | Ear buds with plastic sticks, plastic sticks for balloons, plastic flags, candy sticks, ice-cream sticks, polystyrene [Thermocol] for decoration                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             | 1.1.2022         |
|        4 | single-use plastic (including polystyrene and expanded polystyrene) items plates, cups, glasses, cutlery such as forks, spoons, knives, straw,trays, wrapping/packing films around sweet boxes; invitation cards; and cigarette packets, plastic/PVC banners less than 100 micron, stirrers. The above provision shall not apply to commodities (including carry bags) made of compostable plastic material. | 01.07.2022       |

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