Plastic makers warn Pb govt of protest from July 5

Chandigarh: The Plastic Manufacturers and Traders Association of Punjab has given an ultimatum to the Punjab government that if its departments go against the central government guidelines to impose a ban on single-use plastic from July 1, the association will start protests from July 5.
Association president Gurdeep Singh Batra also asked the Punjab government to ban transportation of plastic from Gujarat, Delhi and other states into Punjab. The association said it had already stopped making plastic whose thickness was less than 75 microns as per the central government guidelines, but the raw material of less than 75 microns was still being transported into Punjab through a nexus.

“The central government has, as of now, permitted single-use plastic of above 75 microns. After December, plastic of less than 120 microns will be completely banned. But the Punjab government has put a blanket ban on single-use plastic, though it is just an implementing agency of the central government guidelines,” said Batra.
He claimed that the association had made it clear it was ready to follow central government guidelines and will do away with the plastic of less than 120 microns after December, but the state government was acting on its whim and fancy to harass plastic manufacturers in the state.
As per the Union environment ministry’s notification, the ban on single-use plastic manufacturing, import, stocking, sale and distribution was being implemented from July 1in a phased manner.
Costly alternative
The government has been trying to put a ban on the use of single-use plastic for six years, but has not provided an alternative to traders or end-users, said Batra. He added normal plastic came for nearly Rs 100 per kg, whereas starch bio-compostable carrybags came for Rs 450 per kg. Batra said the central and state governments should think of doing away with 18% goods and services tax (GST) on starch, bio- compostable carrybags.
Most of the plastic raw material in Punjab comes from Baroda, Ahmedabad, Surat, Daman and Diu, Maharashtra and nearly 60% of the plastic manufacturers in the state are based in Ludhiana and others mainly in Sunam, Sangrur, Dhuri and Amritsar. These manufacturers produce plastic covers and packaging material out of raw plastic for various products like hosiery and garments.