New Delhi, 10 Oct: A study conducted by an NGO in Delhi, Gwalior, Bengaluru, Guwahati, and Mumbai has revealed significant non-compliance to the ban on certain single-use plastic products which was imposed last year.
All banned single-use plastic products, except for plastic stirrers and plastic ice cream sticks, remained in use across all surveyed cities, according to the study titled “Single Use Plastic Ban in India”.
The study was conducted by Toxics Link, an environmental NGO.
Restrictive carry bags, having a thickness of less than 120 microns, were the most commonly available banned item across cities, with 64 per cent of survey points still using them, the study revealed.
Despite the availability of viable alternatives, other products, including thermocol decorations (74 per cent), balloons (60 per cent), and plastic stick earbuds (60 per cent) continued to be sold in all cities.
According to the study, the lowest compliance percentage was recorded in Delhi (12 per cent), followed by Gwalior (16 per cent), Guwahati (23 per cent) and Mumbai (29 per cent).
Although significant, Bengaluru had the least usage of single-use plastic products among the surveyed cities. Fifty-five per cent of the surveyed points were still using banned single-use plastic products.
The continued availability of single-use plastic products in such high percentages of the surveyed points across all five cities, months after the ban, indicates serious concerns.
India implemented a nationwide ban on specific SUPs beginning on July 1, 2022, to protect human health and fight environmental degradation.
As part of the study, 700 survey points across 23 distinct types of locations were analysed in the five cities. Local street food vendors, tiny restaurants, railway stations, wholesale markets, malls, and tourist attractions were included.
Though malls and metro stations show strong adherence to the ban, the study finds that shopping markets, weekly markets, and wholesale markets have major enforcement gaps.
Despite their controlled environments, plastic carry bags are also frequently used on railway platforms, bus depots, and tourist spots.
Furthermore, despite the availability of viable alternatives, the continued presence of single-use plastic products in the food business, including restaurants, food stalls, and street food vendors in all cities, raises serious concern about the effectiveness of the product ban.
In Delhi, one of the surveyed cities, significant usage of banned single-use plastic products has been noted during the study.
According to it, 100 per cent of the surveyed vegetable shops and markets, including wholesale and weekly ones, shops selling sweets, bus depots and chaat shops in Delhi are providing restricted plastic carry bags, indicating its widespread usage and possible littering.
Use of plastic carry bags was very high in other points as well, including tourist spots and small restaurants.
Disposable cups, straws and plates made of plastic are available at 54 per cent, 45 per cent, and 43 per cent of the points respectively, indicating a high volume of use.
Thermocol items for decorations, balloons and earbuds with plastic sticks are available at almost all surveyed points in Delhi. Interestingly, single-use plastic products were absent in malls and ice cream parlours.
“Single-use plastics are major contributors to the plastic pollution crisis. The result of the study indicates huge gaps in the enforcement of the ban in India, especially in the informal economy. The open use and distribution of banned Single-use plastics is shocking. It is also being openly sold on e-commerce sites,” said Priti Banthia Mahesh, the chief programme coordinator of Toxic Link.
“Substitutes are available in the market, but it is also crucial that a life cycle approach is taken to evaluate substitutes before their wide adoption,” she added.
Satish Sinha, the associate director at Toxic Link said it is important to recognise that while progress has been made, there is still a substantial journey ahead in curbing the prevalence of single-use plastic products.
“The varying levels of compliance across different locations and product types highlight the complexity of this challenge,” she said. (PTI)