The government is all set to issue an amended notification banning manufacture and sale of 10 single-use plastic items from August 2 in the Union Territory.
“The notification will be issued on the day the ban comes into effect. We have made certain changes in the notification issued when the ban was planned from March 1,” a senior government official told The Hindu .
A release from Director of Department of Science, Technology and Environment, R. Smitha, said single use plastic materials such as polythene/plastic/polypropylene carrybags, polythene plastic cups, polythene plastic plates, styrofoam (thermocol) plates, styrofoam cups, plastic sheet pouches used to wrap cooked food, plastic sheets used to spread on dining table, water pouches, plastic straw and plastic flag would be banned in the UT, effective Friday.
The materials would not be allowed to be manufactured, stocked or sold in the Union Territory from the date of ban.
However, plastic items such as non-woven polypropylene bags, plastic-coated paper cups, plastic sheet used for industrial packing, plastic sheet used for packing of pulses, cereals, medicine and milk, multi-layered packaging materials, cling film used for wrapping food, plastic bag of more than 40 x 50 cm in size used for collection and disposal of solid waste and biomedical waste and plastic bags used in horticulture nurseries would be allowed to be manufactured and sold in Puducherry, the release said.
N. Ramesh, Environmental Engineer, Puducherry Pollution Control Committee (PPCC), told The Hindu that they had excluded from the ban use of non-woven polypropylene, paper cups and cling film which were earlier under the list of items proposed to be banned.
Items exempted
Justifying the decision to exclude the materials, the official said non-woven polypropylene was not a single use plastic item.
The material can be reused for at least six months. As for paper cups, the official said manufacturers earlier used a wax item for inside coating.
Waterbodies polluted
The wax easily got dissolved in waterbodies posing significant health concerns, the official said. But now manufacturers have started using non-dissolvable high density polypropylene for inside coating of paper cups. The Central Pollution Control Board has permitted the use of cling film, said the official.
The government had decided to nominate the Member Secretary, PPPCC, Commissioners of Municipalities, Tahsildars, Food Inspector and Revenue Officers to implement the ban.
The Chairman and Member Secretary of PPCC would be authorised to lodge complaints under section 19 of the Environment (Protection), Act 1986, said an official source.
The government, though, proposed to impose ban on single use plastic from March 1 decided to defer the decision due to opposition from traders and plastic manufacturers’ associations. The All Pondicherry Plastic Trader and Manufactures Association (APPTMA) was of the view that the ban would culminate in the closure of 200-odd plastic manufacturing units and would render hundreds jobless.
