Plastic flowers, the farmer from the Daund tehsil, had claimed were not only detrimental to the environment but also harmed the earnings of floriculturists and farmers. (File) The National Green Tribunal has directed the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) to consider including plastic flowers in the group of single-use plastics, which are banned.
Justice Dinesh Kumar Singh and expert member Vijay Kulkarni of the Western Zone of the tribunal were on January 3 hearing a case filed by a Pune-based farmer Rahul Pawar, seeking a permanent ban on the use of plastic flowers and other decorative items. The CPCB has to comply with the order within two months.
Such items, the farmer from the Daund tehsil, had claimed were not only detrimental to the environment but also harmed the earnings of floriculturists and farmers. Single-use plastic, it might be remembered, has been banned under the Plastic Waste Management Rules, 2016 framed by the Ministry of Environment and Forest. Extended Producer Responsibility (ERP) has been imposed on dairies and other manufacturers of food grade plastics for collection and reuse of packaging. Heavy fines are prescribed on offenders with municipal bodies who fine and compound offenders.
During the course of the hearing, the CPCB conceded that in the list of single-use plastic items flowers, leaves and other decorative items have not been included.
Pawar, in his application, had submitted a result from government laboratories where plastic flowers and leaves have been shown to be made from polythene which has been banned by the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB). The thickness of the plastic used, in the test results submitted by Pawar, showed more than 29 microns, which he claimed was banned. Also, in want of proper disposal, Pawar’s petition had claimed the disposal of such flowers was not done scientifically and added to pollution of soil and water.
MPCB, during the hearing, conceded that single-use plastic flowers, leaves, and other decorative items were included in the list of items banned. The pollution control body pointed out that it banned the use of thermocol last year. MPCB said it has carried out periodic searches and cease operations and taken action against violators. The pollution control body has also taken action with the help of local bodies and fined sellers of plastic flowers.
In its order, the tribunal has asked the CPCB to place the proposal to ban plastic flowers before an expert committee. “But in view of the fact that the CPCB concedes that the artificial plastic flower has not been added as one of the single-use plastic products, we deem it appropriate to direct the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) to have it place before the committee for consideration, as to whether the artificial plastic flowers would be appropriate to be included in the representative single-use plastic products, which have been identified by the said committee, which have been shown at page no. 129 of the paper book. We direct the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) to have this matter decided within a period of 02(two) months and submit a report to us,” the final order read.
Advocates Chetan Nagare, Siddhi Mirghe and Dr Chetan Avhad argued the case for Pawar, while Rahul Garg, Aniruddha Kulkarni, Manasi Joshi, and Shivsankar Swaminathan represented the government bodies, local bodies, and the ministry of environment and forest.