Plastic Ban is an initiative took by the government to enforce a state to make strong rules against manufacturing, storing the single-use plastic products like Polybags and Styrofoam.
This rule is made by Indian government 2 October 2019 on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti, For plastic-free India, I just want to tell you the great quote of Mahatma Gandhi
Be the Change You Want to See In This World.
Mahatma Gandhi
Plastic Ban Is one of our step towards reducing plastic pollution, And there is so many nations are coming forward to do plastic ban in his own country.
Bangladesh Is the First country that banned plastic for the first time in 2002 because they found plastic is responsible for flood disaster in the country.
What’s In It For Me?
- Why Plastic Ban Is Important?
- What Is The Effect Of Plastic Ban?
- Causes Of Single-Use Plastic
- Plastic Ban Approach In Different Countries
- How To Execute Plastic Ban More Effectively?
- Conclusion
- FAQs
Why Plastic Ban Is Important?
1 Million plastic bottles and 500 billion plastic bags are sold every day and on that only 7 % only recycled and most of plastic end up going in the ocean,
We know that it takes 500 years to degrade the plastic and that’s the main issue. What’s happened in those 500 years?
Let’s figure it out, In between the plastic breaks it in small pieces and fish and other sea creatures eat that, and If it’s going to happen like that we are going to lose or aquatic life in 2050.
The Red Alert Thing !!!!
Delhi’s 80% Drinking Water contains Microplastic, So you can understand why some cricketers are paying ₹ 600 For one drinking bottle.
Now we can imagine how big is this problem, And Hear I want to tell you the most interesting thing. Humans are never going to come into action until the question of its own life.
What do you think it is enough to ban the plastic? No, the hardest part is the execution of the law. Because the plastic is cheap, easy to make, and easily available. That’s why so many top beverages and snacks brands use it for packaging.
So that’s why they need an alternative for their product and they can also invest some money to make plastic-free packaging.
What Is The Effect Of Plastic Ban?
We know that the environmental effect of the plastic ban is good for our humanity, But there is some bad effect also, It is the Economy.
The biggest problem is the existing investment is machinery, businesses and the Jobs in the plastic industry may in trouble. Only big companies can only survive because they can buy new machinery and technology, to adopt this market.
But in this whole process, poor people will suffer the most because of the prices and it’s going to increase. Take the example of corn base plastic its advantage is it take only 100 yeares degrade.
But it needs new machinery to create. It needs to segregate because it has a different process to recycle, so it needs a new type of machinery ultimately prices will increase.
Packaged water is 30,000 crores industry and around 7 crore people get employment either direct or indirect, so this thing makes it very difficult to do it.
Causes Of Single-Use Plastic
Bangladesh is the first country that banned plastic in 2002. About 200 plastic recycling companies claimed that 70% of plastic is recycled. But the remaining 30% doesn’t reach recycling companies.
This bulk waste gets trapped in pipes and drainage’s of major cities. Waterlogging during rainy days becomes a common problem, Few minutes of water rain make streets convert into a river.
Because water doesn’t get pass through it and pipes get clogged a plastic bags played a major roll in this.
Now you will realize this thing is happening in India also, there is a slum area in every city this thing is common in those areas.
We are also facing the same drainage clogging problems, these clogged drainages increased in Mosquitoes. And it leads to diseases like dengue and malaria.
Plastic Ban Approach In Different Countries
Kenya
From August 2017 Kenya banned plastic from the country, people from Kenya faced the toughest plastic ban in the world,
The ban on making selling and carrying plastic single-use plastic, over 500 people arrested during this single plastic ban
The environmentalist claimed that we save the nature form almost 100 million plastic bags, now most of the people from Kenya started using cotton bags
The people from different industries say that because of single-use plastic ban people lost their employment and some industries go to neighboring countries,
But despite that they able to reduce plastic pollution and they able to get health benefits.
Rwanda
Rwanda banned plastic in 2008 and decided to do plastic waste management with that they decided to become the cleanest nation in the African countries.
Supermarkets stop giving plastic bags free but in some places they are using single-use plastic.
They allow the plastic in hotels but with some strict rules. And making sure that plastic will go for the recycling process.
And the most important change they saw in-country is they able to increase in the tourism sector and the educational sector.
China
China used to be the biggest importer of recycled products and they use different methods to Reduce Plastic Pollution.
In 2018 they stop accepting trash from developed countries. and they make some strong guidelines to follow for their recycling industries, because they want to reduce carbon footprint.
US is the biggest exporter of trash to China, now they cannot so they turn into other countries like India, Indonesia, Taiwan, and Vietnam.
How To Execute Plastic Ban More Effectively?
In the context of widespread measures to prevent single-use plastics and their combined effects.
The UN Environment has prepared a 10-step roadmap for governments that wish to adopt such measures or improve existing ones.
These steps are based on the experiences of 60 countries around the world
Steps Given By UN
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Firstly target the most problematic single-use plastics and conduct an introductory survey to identify the current problems, scope, and implications of their management.
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Secondly Consider best solution for problem-solving (e.g. through regulatory, economic, awareness, and voluntary action),
And also the socio-economic status of the country, and their appropriateness in addressing specific issues identified. -
Thirdly Assess the social, economic, and nature impacts (positive and negative) of preferred short-listed activities, and also consider how they affect the poor or the various sectors.
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After that Identify and engage key stakeholder groups, such as retailers, customers, industry representatives, local government, manufacturers, civil society, environmental groups, and tourism groups, So we can ensure wider buying.
Simultaneously, Evidence-based studies are also needed to defeat opposition from the plastic industry. -
Then Raise public awareness of the problem caused by single-use plastics and clarify the decision and subsequent punishments.
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Encourage alternatives, Before the ban or tax goes into effect, the availability of alternatives must be charged, so the government can do the following:
Firstly make sure there are previous conditions for getting them on the market.
Secondly, provide financial support to encourage the adoption of more harmless and nature-friendly options.
Thirdly Support may include support for tax incentives, R&D funds, technology incubation, public-private partnerships, and single-use recycling waste as a renewable resource. -
It is also important that Governments from the plastics industry, including plastic packaging importers and suppliers, have to face resistance. Meanwhile, give them time to adjust
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At lest Increase tax or taxable income to the common good.
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And then Implement an effective selection of solutions by ensuring that there is a clear allocation of roles as well as responsibilities.
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Finally Monitor and adjust selected sizes if necessary.
Conclusion
The main challenge for the plastic ban is spreading the right awareness, Some countries are doing good with that but countries not taking it seriously,
In the end, we don’t want to be a generation that we kill all our ocean life.
Also See – Plastic Free India
FAQs
In 2002 massive flood situations happen in Bangladesh and the reason is single-use plastic stuck in the water drainage system.
Bangladesh Become the first country to ban the plastic.
Leo Hendrik Baekeland invented plastic in 1907.
In 1996 Yuksom village ban the plastic which is located in Sikkim and then after 2 years on the 4 June 1998 government of Sikkim announce a plastic ban.
