MoEFCC releases draft regulations to ban Single Use Plastic from 2022
On 11th March 2021, the Union Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC) released the draft Plastic Waste Management Rules, 2021. Among other things, these regulations seek to ban certain categories of single use plastics. The proposed prohibitions are in line with PM Modi’s announcement in 2019 on phasing out single-use plastic by 2022.
Draft Regulations to ban Single Use Plastic :
The draft Plastic Waste Management (Amendment) Rules, 2021 is proposed to be implemented in three stages starting in end of September 2021 and culminating in July 2022. These regulations seek to ban manufacture, import, stocking, distribution, sale and use of following single-use plastic commodities as per below timeline.
| Timeline | Category of Single Use Plastics |
|---|---|
| 30th September 2021 | Each sheet of non-woven plastic carry bag shall not be less than 60 (GSM per square meter) or 240 microns in thickness. A carry bag made of virgin or recycled plastic shall not be less than 120 microns. |
| 1st January 2022 | Ear buds with plastic sticks, plastic sticks for balloons, plastic flags, candy sticks, ice-cream sticks, polystyrene [Thermocol] for decoration |
| 1st July 2022 | Plates, cups, glasses, cutlery such as forks, spoons, knives, straw, trays, wrapping/packing films around sweet boxes; invitation cards; and cigarette packets, plastic/PVC banners less than 100 micron, stirrer |
The provisions do not apply to commodities (including carry bags) made of compostable plastic material.
Draft Plastic Waste Management Rules, 2021 – Other Regulations
- The amendment also extends the applicability of the rules to brand-owner, plastic waste processor, including the recycler, co-processor, etc.
- The draft also includes new definitions of:
- Non-woven plastic bag – is made up of sheet or web structured fabric of entangled fibers or filaments (and by perforating films) bonded together by mechanical or thermal or chemical means. The Non-woven fabric is a flat or tufted porous sheet that is made directly from fibres, molten plastic or plastic films.
- Plastic waste processing – means any process by which plastic waste is handled for the purpose of reuse, recycling, co-processing or transformation into new products.
- Single-use plastic (SUP) item is a plastic commodity intended to be used once for the same purpose before being dispose of or recycled.
- Thermoset plastic – is a plastic which becomes irreversibly rigid when heated, and hence cannot be remoulded into desired shape.
- Thermoplastic – is a plastic which softens on heating and can be moulded into desired shape.
The draft is open for public suggestion for 60 days for consideration by the central government, following which it will be published in the Gazette of India. These rules may be called Plastic Waste Management (Amendment) Rules, 2021, and shall come into force on the date of publication in the Official Gazette.
Draft regulations to ban Single Use Plastic from 2022 – Download PDF
