Phased ban on plastics is welcome. Challenge will lie in enforcement, bringing in viable substitutes

In the past five years, more than 20 states have put in place some form of regulation on plastic use. But by all accounts, their implementation has been patchy at best. The poorly-staffed and feebly-empowered state pollution control boards or cash-strapped municipalities tasked with enforcing the bans have generally not been up to the task. Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav has said that his ministry will set up control rooms to monitor the ban. A better way would be to raise awareness amongst people and take all stakeholders into confidence — the success of Sikkim and Himachal Pradesh, to an extent, testifies to this.

Some food vendors, takeaway restaurants and grocery outfits have begun using biodegradable cutlery and cloth or paper bags. The government claims that a large number of plastic units are making the switch to using packaging alternatives such as cotton, jute, paper and crop stubble waste. However, the alternatives sector does not produce at a scale that will enable businesses all over the country to make the environment-friendly transition. There are more than 22,000 plastic manufacturing units in the country. It will be some time before enough numbers are brought under the alternative segment to make a tangible difference to the packaging sector’s environmental footprint. Industry experts say that the prices of a lot of the current plastic substitutes burden the retailer and the consumer — a kg of fabric bags, for example, cost Rs 80 more compared to plastic bags. The government would, therefore, do well to hand-hold businesses, especially small outfits already strained by the economic fallout of the pandemic, during the transition period. In the long run, it must join hands with industry bodies to facilitate R&D in viable plastic substitutes.