Starting from July 1, India will ban the use, sale, import, production and processing of many types of single-use plastic products nationwide, in order to reduce plastic waste and remediate environmental pollution.
The first phase of India's "plastic ban" covers 19 types of plastic products, including plastic cups, straws, cotton swabs, etc.; temporarily exempted plastic products include plastic bags and multi-layer packaging films that do not exceed the specified thickness.
Plastic products such as beverage bottles and potato chip bags are not banned, but the Indian government has set recycling targets for its manufacturers.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi first announced in 2018 that he would implement a "plastic ban". From July 1, the day the "plastic ban" takes effect, the government will send supervisors to conduct random inspections of suppliers and distributors in various places. Violators can be fined up to 100,000 rupees (about 8,480 yuan) or five years in prison.
According to the government's environmental watchdog, India generated more than 4.1 million tonnes of plastic waste in 2020. About one-third of them are not recycled or are piled up in garbage dumps, increasing fire hazards, exacerbating air pollution, or entering waterways, polluting the marine ecological environment and urban drinking water systems.
Therefore, all kinds of biodegradable plastic bags will usher in a major development in India.
