The government had banned the use of disposable plastic, including plastic bags, cups, spoons, plates and tiffin containers, among others, in March 2018. (File Photo) Continuing with its drive against single-use plastic in Mumbai, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) seized 2 lakh kg of the banned material and collected Rs 5.36 crore as penalty amount from hawkers, restaurants, shops and other establishments between June 2018 and January 2022.
The government had banned the use of disposable plastic, including plastic bags, cups, spoons, plates and tiffin containers, among others, in March 2018.
It gave three months to users, retailers and manufacturers to get rid of such items after which the ban came into effect on June 23. After about a year, the drive lost momentum and single-use plastic has been freely available in the markets. The drive was also temporarily discontinued during the first and second waves of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The move comes after the Central Pollution Control board (CPCB) said that a blanket ban on certain single-use plastic items will be implemented from July 1 this year. The CPCB issued notices to producers, stockists and e-commerce sites so that these items are no longer
used or sold.
Following the CPCB direction, the state pollution control board in a notice issued on March 8 announced a ban on all items using plastic elements less than 100 microns and spelt out other items that would fall under its purview — cutlery, earbuds with plastic sticks, plastic sticks on balloons and ice cream and candy plastic sticks and spoons, among others for the first time.
On July 29, 2021, the CPCB directed all state pollution control boards for a quarterly assessment of phasing out of single-use plastic in their jurisdictions along with details of production capacity and alternatives.
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