State-level task force formed to ban single-use plastics (representative)
New Delhi:
According to a draft action plan for the elimination of environmentally hazardous products, by October 31 this year, the Delhi government will identify the hotspots of single-use plastic (SUP) and the entry points of such items into water bodies and sewers.
In accordance with the notification from the Union Ministry of Environment, all single-use plastic items and manufacturing facilities in the capital will be closed by June 30, 2022.
Municipal local authorities and the environmental and urban development departments will provide incentives to bring alternatives to the market and establish a program to promote recycling technologies and recycled products.
The notification of 12 April from the Ministry of the Environment of the Union states that the production, import, storage, distribution, sale and use of identified single-use plastic products, including polystyrene and expanded polystyrene, will be prohibited from 1 July 2022. are.
The identified SUP items are ear plugs, plastic sticks for balloons, flags, candy sticks, ice cream sticks, polystyrene (thermocol) for decoration, plates, cups, glasses, cutlery, wrapping or packaging films around candy boxes, invitation cards, cigarette packs, plastic or PVC banners smaller than 100 microns and stirrers.
According to the Delhi government’s draft plan for the elimination of SUP, urban local authorities (ULBs) will identify hotspots for litter by October 31 and develop a strategy for its collection and management.
The ULBs and the Departments of Tourism and Archeology will develop a strategy for targeted campaigns on hotspots that cause litter, such as tourist spots, places of religious and cultural interest, weekly markets and urban sprawl.
The ULBs, the Delhi Jal Board and the Department of Irrigation and Flood Control will also identify “ingress points of strewn SUP items into surface water bodies and drains” and prepare a prevention strategy by the end of October.
A step-by-step plan is drawn up for the cleaning of water bodies and the drainage of floating SUP items and their management.
The plan also requires ULBs to document and manage the amount of plastic waste in old landfills such as Bhalswa, Ghazipur and Okhla landfills.
A state-level task force has already been formed for the elimination of SUP and the effective implementation of the amended plastic waste management rules, 2021.
By September 30, the government will designate a nodal department to coordinate the implementation of plastic waste management rules.
The Delhi Pollution Control Committee and the urban development department will develop a database of producers, importers, brand owners, recyclers and plastic waste processors implementing the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) by December 31.
Extended producer responsibility is a policy approach where producers take responsibility for managing the disposal of products they produce once those products are deemed no longer useful by consumers.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NewsMadura staff and has been published from a syndicated feed.)
