Circular economy to help phase out single-use plastics

Single Use Plastic (SUP), as the name suggests, “is a plastic commodity intended to be used once for the same purpose before being disposed of or recycled”. SUP products have unfortunately become an important part of life and as a result the polymer is mass-produced in spite of common knowledge that they take hundreds of years to degrade. The products are harmful to human health and environment: dumped at landfills, they seep into ground water; plastic and micro plastic contamination in food and water pose a serious threat to health; uncontrolled burning of plastic releases toxic dioxins.

The government has framed comprehensive Plastic Waste Management (PWM) rules that include bans on:

Plastic sachets used for storing, packing or selling gutka, tobacco and pan masala

Manufacture, import, stocking, distribution, sale and use of carry bags made of virgin or recycled plastic are prohibited

Manufacture, import, stocking, distribution, sale and use of SUP items with low utility and high littering potential such as ear-buds with plastic sticks, and wrapping or packing films.

The rules are applicable to all waste generators, urban local bodies (ULB) /gram panchayat (GP), manufacturer, producer/importer/brand owner and plastic waste processor/ recycler. They mandate that the ULBs take steps to segregate, collect, store and channelise recyclable plastic waste to registered plastic waste recyclers, recover oil/energy, encourage use of plastic waste in road construction, develop decentralised infrastructure for both recycling and end-of-life disposal.

A waste generator, on its part, must take steps to minimise generation, segregate plastic waste at source, ensure waste storage at source and handover segregated waste to registered waste pickers and/or recyclers.

Institutional generators too are required to segregate and hand over segregated waste to authorised waste processing/disposal facilities. The rules state that waste generators should pay a user fee as specified in the bylaws of the local bodies. On their part, the producers must workout modalities for waste collection systems based on Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR). It is applicable to both pre consumer and post-consumer plastic packaging waste -- a producer (importer or brand owner) must establish a system to collect the waste generated due to their products. Entities who fulfil their EPR targets,can use the surplus to offset shortfall accrued over the previous years or carry forward for succeeding year or sell it to other PIBOs. Unfulfilled EPR obligations for a particular year will be carried forward to the next year for a period of three years.

EPR obligations, however, are not applicable to micro and small enterprises. The rules also include retailers and street vendors and forbids use of carry bags or MLPs which are not up to specifications.

The government is ready with a comprehensive action plan that details supply side interventions and demand side interventions. Implementation, however, holds the key to successful phasing out of the SUPproducts.

Authorities can enlist the help of self help groups in rural areas for activities such as identification of littering hotspots, segregation of waste at source, and increased door-to-door collection. A penalty structure in bye-laws for spot-fining can help in effective enforcement of PWM Rules.

Legacy plastic waste can be managed through quantifying and recovering plastic from the sites involving stakeholders such as industries and recyclers that are registered with KSPCB. Littered plastic waste in water bodies can be managed by identifying ingress points in drains, installation of floating nets and phased plan for cleaning, collection and disposal of wastes.

Responsible management of SUP must be actively promoted by authorities in tourist spots, religious and cultural hubs, weekly markets and urban sprawls. Civic bodies must engage with general public to increase awareness. More efforts are needed towards capacity building for repurposing and reuse of plastic packaging. For sustainable PWM, all stakeholders from the private and public sectors as well as communities must adopt the ethos of circular economy. That is the only effective way to eliminate waste, regenerate natural ecosystems, and extend the life of materials and goods.

(The writer is Member Secretary, KSPCB)