Deeming the harm to the environment and health, the ban imposed on 19 products of single-use plastic i.e. made for only one use is understandable. i.e. production, sale and use of thermocol plates, cups, glasses, cutlery such as forks, spoons, knives, trays, film wrapping on sweet boxes, foil of cigarette packets, plastic flags, ice cream sticks, etc. now is a punishable offence. The use of plastics of thickness less than 75 microns is already banned in the country and the minimum thickness of plastic carry bags will also be 120 microns by December 31 as part of efforts to eliminate single-use plastic in a phased manner.

In any case, plastic is dangerous for the environment and human health. Chemicals present in plastic are the cause of cancer, obesity, diabetes etc. According to a survey of the Central Pollution Control Board, 26,000 tonnes of plastic waste is generated in the country every day, of which only 60 per cent is disposed of. Single-use plastic is more dangerous for the environment because it is neither possible to dispose of, nor can it be burnt. Its fragments release toxic chemicals into the environment and its waste prevents rainwater from going under the ground, which reduces the groundwater level.

For this reason, it was decided to ban these single-use plastic products. However, sanction by punishment alone cannot be effective. Active participation in society is also necessary for this. Given the disadvantages of plastic, the task of creating public opinion against it is being done for a long time. But not much work has been done in the direction of creating an alternative, such as increasing the trend of cloth bags, encouraging utensils stores, etc. Then the plastic alternatives are very expensive too. There are about 500 units of single-use plastic across the country, in which lakhs of workers work, who are now expected to be unemployed.

So instead of banning it, it could have been practical to upgrade this plastic. However, after banning 19 products of single-use plastic, emphasis will have to be laid on increasing the availability of cheaper alternative products.