Single-use plastic ban partiallies lifted: Maharashtra allows use of these items

 

The Maharashtra government has changed its single-use plastic policy to allow certain things.

The Maharashtra government has changed its single-use plastic policy to allow certain things. According to the updated policy, straws, cups, plates, forks and spoons are now allowed to be produced from "compostable" material, according to a senior official. The four-year plastic ban has now been partially eased by the Maharashtra government. The has come into force with immediate effect.

According to Praveen Darade, this action will come as a relief to the producers of plastic goods. According to the secretary of the Environment and Climate Change Department (ECCD), permission to produce single-use items made from biodegradable materials was already in demand. In 2018, the Maharashtra government outlawed single-use plastic.

However, these products would require approval from the Central Institute of Plastics Engineering and Technology (CIPET) and the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), Darade said. “This means manufacturers will have to take prior approval and the items will have the stamp of certification from the concerned authorities,” a senior ECCD official told HT.

The use of items made from compostable material was approved after a panel of the ECCD evaluated the ban on single-use plastic and thermocol products. The panel was headed by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.

Compostable plastic bags used in plant nurseries, horticulture, agriculture and solid waste processing were till now exempt from the state's plastic ban. Revisions are being made to align state policy with the policy approved by the federal government last year, according to the Department of the Environment. However, officials said that the industry is exerting pressure on them.

A notification issued by the ECCD said, "Plastic packaging material to be more than 50 microns in thickness - If the thickness of the plastic sheet reduces the functionality of the product, the packaging material may be less than 50 microns."

In March 2018, Maharashtra banned all single-use plastic items, such as non-woven polypropylene bags, plates, cups, spoons, glasses, bowls, straws and forks, disposable plastic containers, regardless of thickness (with or without handles) All types of plastic bags have been declared illegal. Used in hotels and restaurants, plastic sheets smaller than 50 microns are used to wrap or store goods and plastic pouches to store food.