The Delhi Environment Department will launch a campaign on July 1 and shut down any makers, suppliers, stockists, dealers, or sellers found to be in violation of the directives to guarantee compliance with the ban on 19 designated single-use plastics in the nation’s capital.
From July 1st, 2022, the Union government will outlaw single-use plastic. Single-use plastics (SUP), particularly those made of polystyrene and expanded polystyrene, will be illegal to produce, import, stock, distribute, sell, and use starting on July 1, 2022, nationwide.
Beginning on July 1, the Delhi Environment Department will also launch a campaign to enforce adherence to the national capital’s ban on 19 single-use plastics, and will shut down any producers, suppliers, stockists, dealers, or sellers found to be in violation of the directives.
The 19 items that have been identified as SUP include stirrers, earbuds, plastic balloon sticks, flags, candy sticks, ice-cream sticks, polystyrene (thermocol), plates, cups, glasses, forks, spoons, and knives. They also include invitation cards, cigarette packets, and wrapping or packaging films around sweets boxes.
According to a senior government official, “To guarantee that there is no stock of the 19 SUP goods, the department has given rigorous instructions to single-use plastic item producers, retailers, suppliers, and distributors. Those that don’t keep their inventory at zero will be shut down the first week of July.”
According to the source, the department plans routine inspections to determine compliance by manufacturers, brand owners, suppliers, and stockists registered with the Delhi Pollution Control Committee in order to guarantee stringent enforcement (DPCC).
The officer added that officials are looking for unlawfully producing SUP units in industrial and redevelopment regions and investigating those locations.
In order to phase out 19 SUP products, the DPCC has also requested that the Sriram Institute of Industrial Research perform a survey to pinpoint areas where people tend to litter and calculate the amount of plastic trash produced there. All 11 Delhi districts will be included in the study, which must be finished in four months.
The institute has been entrusted with conducting surveys of all reputable, significant commercial businesses, including malls, markets, retail centres, movie theatres, restaurants, tourist attractions, houses of worship, colleges, schools, office buildings, hospitals, and other institutions.
It will need to compile a list of wholesalers, retailers, sellers, street vendors, fruit and vegetable markets, and importers who deal in large quantities of SUP items. It will also need to map the generation, collection, and processing of plastic waste on a district-by-district basis and identify producers who work in the informal sector.
Manufacturers of tiny packaged fruit juices and dairy products are asking the government to delay the implementation of the ban until the necessary infrastructure is built locally to produce paper straws, claiming that importing such straws is not financially feasible.
According to Schauna Chauhan, CEO of Parle Agro, India does not currently have the capacity to generate the quantity of straws needed by the sector. To make sure the new regulations are followed by their deadline, we have begun importing paper straws. Importing, however, is not a viable choice.
In order to enable Indian straw producers, develop the necessary capacity to produce and sell biodegradable straws to beverage firms, they are requesting an extension of six months. In order to meet our volume of biodegradable straws, Chauhan stated, “We have already started working on creating numerous local MSMEs.”
Similar comments were expressed by Shahrukh Khan, executive director of operations for Dabur India “While certain state regulations have approved the use of paper and biodegradable plastic straws, there is currently no infrastructure in India to manufacture these straws on a large scale. Therefore, we would kindly request that the government delay the implementation of the prohibition until the necessary infrastructure is put in place to produce paper straws locally.”