Urban News

The Environment Ministry has invited comments from the stakeholders on the draft rules for the Plastics (manufacture, usage and waste management) Rules 2009 stipulating: “No person shall manufacture, stock, distribute or sell non-recyclable laminated plastic/metallic pouches, multi-layered packaging and other non-recyclable plastics.”

The draft rules also stipulate that only those pouches or multi-layered packaging from biodegradable plastic film, which meet Bureau of Indian Standard (BIS) specifications, will be allowed.
The views from the public and the industry would be considered by the end of December and if accepted in the present form, various industries, including the fast moving consumer goods and food processing firms, will have to come up with eco-friendly packaging material.

“The proposals follow suggestions of the Chopra Committee formed at the direction of the Delhi High Court last year, while hearing a case related to the plastic menace in the national capital,” Joint Secretary in the Environment Ministry, Rajiv Gauba said.

Seeking a ban on such pouches, the panel had pointed out that “multi-layered and metallic pouches used for gutkha and pan masala are not recyclable due to their composition and as such they remain as solid waste, causing serious damage to the environment.”

The three-member panel headed by retired Delhi High Court judge R C Chopra also suggested a ban on coloured bags containing metallic additives, citing health and environment hazards.
Following the Delhi High Court order based on the panel recommendations, the state government had issued a notification in January banning usage of plastic bags in hotels, hospitals, shopping malls and markets in the capital.

So far 40 shopkeepers have been prosecuted and a trader slapped with a fine of Rs 15,000 for flouting the ban in Delhi.

As part of the initiative, shopkeepers on the busy stretch will go plastic-free for 10 days in order to raise awareness about the adverse impact of the material on the environment.

The initiative was launched with a ‘Go Green’ painting competition in the presence of State police chief Ajai Kumar Singh at Lalbagh on Sunday.

Speaking at the launch, Singh said: “It is not always that initiatives crucial to the future of our existence are taken up. But this is one campaign that can really make a difference, and it is up to each individual to realise the importance of saying ‘no’ to plastic.”

Senior vice-president of the National Geographic Channel, Rajesh Seshadri, who presided over the function, said every bit of plastic that had ever been manufactured was still on the planet. Several local cable operators such as Hathaway, In Cable and Siti Cable will support the campaign by airing promos, raising awareness about the “non-biodegradable” nature of plastic for the next 10 days.

Eco-friendly bags
Meanwhile, the channel will also distribute about 40,000 eco-friendly bags in the City. Former Indian cricket captain Anil Kumble and actor Vasundhara Das are among the eminent Bangaloreans who have thrown their weight behind the campaign.