Chennai: Clarion call issued for judicious use of plastics

CHENNAI: Decades ago everyone called plastic a ‘beautiful invention,’ given its wide application because of its lightweight, low cost and other attributes. But today, the same plastic is seen as a major impediment to environment protection. The reason is the society at large has dug its own grave by becoming over-reliant and moving to single-use and multi-layered plastic, which is non-recyclable.
At present, about 25,000 tonnes of plastic waste are generated every year in India and Chennai is the second largest plastic polluter, generating 429.39 tonnes.

To throw more light on how to effectively fight the problem, TNIE on Tuesday organised ‘The Eco Code’ conclave to mark the World Environment Day with the theme ‘Beat Plastic Pollution’ where experts unanimously called for caution in use of plastics. They have called for behavioral shift in minimising the use of plastics.

Former judicial member of the National Green Tribunal Justice P Jyothimani, who inaugurated the conclave, said it was the fundamental right of every citizen to live in a clean environment and the Supreme Court had upheld it time and again. “When we are talking about plastics, 100% ban is impractical. We should ponder over how to effectively turn plastic waste into wealth. Options like using plastic waste in laying of roads should be explored on a larger scale,” he said.

For instance, India was committed to phasing out non-recyclable multi-layered plastics by 2018 through its Plastic Waste Management Rules 2016 hailed as a bold step in the right direction. However, this decision was reversed in March 2018 through an amendment that effectively allows manufacturers of multi-layered plastics and plastic bags to continue with business as usual. The official estimates show packaging is the single largest application of plastics — in India, it accounts for 43% all plastics — and most packaging of consumer products is single-use. “We have an industry which is against multi-layered plastic, which can’t be recycled,” said G Sankaran, president, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry Plastic Association.

IT Department Secretary B Chandramohan, while delivering the keynote address, said the State government was doing its best to protect the environment. “Today’s announcement by the Chief Minister to ban single-use plastic from January 1, 2019 is a fine example of the government’s commitment. At the same time, the government can’t monitor everything and the industry and people should also own up responsibility,” he said.