The Mangaluru City Corporation (MCC) will enforce the amended Plastic Waste Management Rules 2021 that expanded the ban on single-use plastic to include plastic sticks used in earbuds, ice creams, plastic plates, cups, etc., on July 1.
Violation of the order by industries, all commercial establishments, including malls, marketplaces, shopping centres, cinemas, tourist places, educational institutions, offices and hospitals, will lead to the seizure of prohibited plastics products under the Environment (Protection) Act 1986.
Penalties under the Solid Waste Management and Sanitation Act and the Environmental Compensation Board will be issued as per the guidelines by the Central Pollution Control Board at the rate of ₹5,000 per tonne, the corporation said.
Corporation Commissioner Akshy Sridhar has, in a notification on Tuesday, asked all those who have stored the banned items to clear them by Thursday.
The State government banned single-use plastic items, including carry bags, banners, buntings, flex, plates and cups, in March 2016 itself.
The Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) on August 12, 2021 banned several other items under the Plastic Waste Management (Amendment) Rules, including manufacturing, import, storage, distribution, sale and use of single-use plastics —polystyrene and expanded polystyrene.
Some of the banned products are earbuds with plastic sticks, plastic sticks used for balloons, plastic flags, plastic candy sticks, plastic ice cream sticks, polystyrene (thermocol) used for decoration, plastic plates, plastic cups and tumblers, forks, plastic spoons, plastic knives, cutlery such as plastic trays, wrapping or packaging films for sweet boxes, invitations and cigarette packets, plastic less than 100 microns, PVC banners and plastic stirrers.
