Relevance of ‘Single Use Plastic’ in India: An Analytical Study

Abstract

The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Government of India notified the Plastic Waste Management Amendment Rules, 2021, on 12 August 2021. To proceed with the spirit of ‘Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsava’, a defining step to curb pollution caused by cluttered and uncontrolled plastic waste is being taken by the country. India banned manufacturing, importing, stocking, distribution, sales and usage of identified throw away plastic items, which have minimal utility and maximum/significant littering potential, all across the country from July 1, 2022. India is a party to the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA). In total 124 Nations are party to UNEA and India had signed a resolution to draw up an agreement which will in the future make it legally binding for the signatories to address the full life of plastics from production to disposal, to end plastic pollution.

Plastics have transformed our day to day life, and their use is expected to continue to rise. There are now 8.3 billion tonnes of plastic with in globe, yet only 6.3 billion of those tonnes are usable. It is our goal in this closing piece to summarise our existing knowledge of the positive effects and negative consequences of plastic usage, as well as what we want to accomplish moving forward. Clearly, plastics provide several social advantages as well as potential technical and medical advancements in the future. It's also important to note that issues concerning consumption and disposal are wide-ranging, including the build up of garbage in landfills and natural ecosystems, as well as health difficulties for animals caused by ingesting or tangling in polyethylene terephthalate (PET). Plastics are made using around 4% of the world's oil output as a feedstock and with about as much energy as that. In the contemporary era of mass manufacturing, packaging represents approximately a third of all materials consumed. This linear use of hydrocarbons via packaging and other short-lived plastic uses is simply not sustainable, given our diminishing fossil fuel supplies and constrained capacity for waste disposal in landfills. Green chemistry life-cycle studies and new risk assessment methods may help address the issue of littering, along with reducing the amount of waste that is thrown away at the end of a product's lifespan. The public, industry, scientists, and legislators working together will be the most effective way to implement these policies. However, the need is to comply with the new guidelines of the Government in order to protect environment and human health. In this paper We have discussed the recent guidelines issued by the Indian Government in August 12, 2022. It has further banned the disposable plastic in order to protect the environment. The detailed analysis of the SUP has been mentioned with the pros and cons of Plastic use with distinct reference to the stakeholders.