• Solid Waste Management and Circular Economy

Ban on single-use plastic by July 1st, is India Inc. ready?

From July 1, 2022, the government will prohibit the production, distribution, and use of specific single-use plastic products such as plates, cups, straws, trays, and polystyrene. Is the sector prepared to abide by the prohibition? The administration is prepared to start enforcing the single-use plastic ban on July 1. On January 26, 2019, from the Lal Quila’s fortifications, Prime Minister Narendra Modi discussed India’s progress in this direction. The government then announced on August 12, 2021, that as of July 1, 2022, all single-use plastic goods with low usefulness and high litter potential are prohibited from being manufactured, imported, stocked, distributed, sold, and used. PET bottles used to package water do not yet fit into this category. INDIA’S PLASTIC WASTE GENERATION LANDSCAPE Every year, 3.5 million tons of plastic garbage are produced in India. According to government statistics, India produces 3 kilograms of plastic garbage per person each year. Approximately 41, 26,997 tons of plastic garbage will be produced annually in 2020–21, according to data from all state pollution control boards. The best course of action, according to Sunita Narain, director general of the Centre for Science and Environment, is to make sure that plastic products are recycled or disposed of properly. We need a three-pronged approach for this, she continues. “First, all plastic that is made and used should be gathered and disposed of.” Second, the used plastic garbage has to be recycled or burned; it shouldn’t end up in landfills or clog our waterways. Thirdly, the recycling or disposal process needs to be done in a way that is not harmful to the environment or human health. However, it is most crucial to stop using plastic products that are hard to recycle or collect. Herein lays the purpose of the existing restriction, albeit curtailed. Can the industry abide by the single-use plastic ban? Even while the government authorities seem ready to enforce, is the sector ready to reform? Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) has asked Union Environment Minister Bhupendra Yadav to extend the single-use plastic ban’s deadline to July 1, 2022, rather than the current six months. Additionally, he has called for the establishment of a joint committee made up of senior government officials and stakeholder groups with the task of coming up with fair substitutes for single-use plastic so that the country may discontinue its usage without any hindrance.

• Solid Waste Management and Circular Economy

Angela Merkel to chair the jury of the Gulbenkian Prize for Humanity

Former German Chancellor Angela Merkel will be the next president of the jury for the prize, worth 1 million euros, awarded annually by the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation. This is the first position accepted by Merkel since she ceased her duties as chancellor in December 2021. Founded by the Armenian oil magnate and art collector Calouste Gulbenkian in Portugal in 1956, the foundation aims to improve people’s quality of life through art, charity, science and education. Angela Merkel succeeds Jorge Sampaio, who has been president of the jury since its first edition. The jury also includes Miguel Bastos Araújo (Research Professor at the National Museum of Natural Sciences, in Madrid and Professor of Biogeography at the University of Évora, Pessoa Prize 2018), Hans Joachim Schellnhuber (Founder and Director Emeritus of the Potsdam Institute for Research on the Impact Climate Specialist and Professor Emeritus at Tsinghua University in China), Johan Rockström (Director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Researchand Professor of Earth System Sciences at the University of Potsdam), Miguel Arias Cañete (former European Commissioner for Energy and Climate Action), Rik Leemans (Director of the Environmental Systems Analysis Group, University of Wageningen and Wageningen and editor-in-chief of the journal international Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability ), Runa Khan (Founder and Executive Director of the NGO Friendship and President of Global Dignity Bangladesh), Sandra Díaz (Biologist, Professor of Ecology at the National University of Córdoba and member of the Royal Society) and Sunita Narain (Director of the Center for Science and Environment in Delhi and Editor of Down To Earth Magazine). The Gulbenkian Prize for Humanity was established by the Foundation with the aim of distinguishing people, groups or organizations from all over the world that have been outstanding in the fight against the climate crisis. Among the potential areas of recognition for the Award are those that can contribute to reducing or removing greenhouse gas emissions; actions to increase the resilience of people and the environment to the impacts of climate change; and also the mobilization of financial resources, public or private, to accelerate the decarbonization of the economy. The Gulbenkian Prize for Humanity was awarded for the first time, in 2020 , to the young Swedish activist Greta Thunberg , who decided to distribute the amount to various environmental and humanitarian projects in the Global South. Last year, the Prize was awarded to the Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy – the largest global alliance for city climate leadership, comprising over 10,600 cities and local governments from 140 countries, including Portugal. The amount of the Gulbenkian Prize was used to support the Energy Transition and climate resilience in Africa, with large projects being financed in five cities in Senegal (supply of drinking water) and in one city in Cameroon (development of energy efficiency solutions) .

• Solid Waste Management and Circular Economy

Plastic ban: A step forward but no clear roadmap

The phasing out of plastic has begun but previous examples show that availability of alternatives, proper implementation and waste management are vital No more plastic spoons, forks, glasses, straws, earbuds with plastic stems or other items that are ubiquitous in our daily life. From July 1, the Union government has banned the use of 19 single-use items that include cups, glasses, cutlery and therm... In fact, four years ago, then Environment Minister Harsh Vardhan made an announcement that single-use plastics would be phased out. The commitment gained more traction a year later when Prime Minister Narendra Modi, from the ramparts of theRed Fort, asked the people of India to “free the country from single-use plastics”. The initial idea was to implement the ban from 2020, but it was extended by two years, thanks to the Covid-19 pandemic, which led to higher consumption of use-and-throw items. Executing this ban, however, will be challenging due to opposition from the industries, non-availability of large-quantities of alternatives and poorly equipped municipalities that will have to work on the ground. “Even as we believe that this ban is too limited, we have to admit it is a critical step towards controlling the menace. We do not need to be warned about the problem. We live it every day,” said Sunita Narain, director general,Centre for Science and Environment, New Delhi.

• Down To Earth

Centre implements nation-wide ban to ensure plastic-free future

Three Delhi-NCR individuals on the changes that they have made in their lifestyle to reduce plastic waste With the intention to drive home the message of how gravely plastic waste has impacted the environment, the Centre has implemented a nationwide ban on 19 single-use plastic items—low utility with high-littering potential—starting today. While adhering to such a ban will in no way be easy, making small and efficient changes can definitely be the way forward to reduce your plastic footprint. Not convinced? Hear it from three individuals who have been mindful of putting a halt to their plastic consumption. TRY TO LEAD BY ACTION SAUMYA GARG Saumya Garg (25), a psychologist from Ghaziabad, makes it a point to consciously reduce plastic waste every day—she uses manjan for dental care, besan [gram flour] for bathing, shampoo bars with eco-packaging, cloth sanitary pads, etc. “My values are aligned [with environmentalism] so, making changes to live a low-waste lifestyle was easy,” she says. Adding that adopting a plastic-free lifestyle should not be “enforced” on those close to you, Garg concludes, “Don’t push anyone, they will resist it. Always lead by action.” THE POWER OF SMALL STEPS AARZOO Godara “I stopped using plastic bags since my early college days. However, it was in 2017 when I transitioned to completely and consciously avoiding plastic,” shares Aarzoo Godara (25), a lawyer by profession. Being involved in waste segregation, she adds, helped, “Once I started segregating waste, I saw how much is actually going into the landfills.” Now, she uses bamboo toothbrushes and other non-plastic alternatives for most toiletries and products, “It is easy; when you start adopting simple changes consciously, it becomes a lifestyle.” ACCEPT, ADOPT AND CHANGE SHRUTI SHARMA It was about two years ago, when East Delhi resident Shruti Sharma (31) became conscious of her choices. “I realised that plastic is creating havoc, so I started taking steps to reduce plastic waste from my life—carrying containers to the grocery store, or taking reusable tumblers, steel straws, containers, switched to menstrual cups, etc.” However, she thinks that acceptance is the biggest challenge she faces. “People think it is okay to use one bottle—but, it is that one bottle used by each of us that makes it a pile of bottles,” she concludes. 689.8 tonnes of plastic waste is generated daily in Delhi—the highest among India’s metropolitan city—as per the ‘State of India’s Environment 2022’ report that was released by the Centre for Science and Environment. 3.5mn tonnes of plastic waste is generated annually in India and the per capita plastic waste generation has almost doubled over the last five years, Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav said in April. 98% of single-use plastic products are made from fossil fuels.

• Solid Waste Management and Circular Economy

Single-Use Plastic Ban From July 1: What Are The Banned Items, Changes And Penalty Amount?

Plastic Ban: A quick lowdown on what will be banned, what will be the penalty and what will be the changes taking place from July 1 when India is scheduled to kick-start plastic ban New Delhi: In a move to save environment from the menace of plastic pollution, the Centre has issued guidelines asking states to ban the use of ‘single-use plastic’ from July 1, 2022. Single-use plastic refers to items that are used only once and are discarded after their immediate use. Single-use plastic constitutes the highest share of plastic manufactured and used — from packaging of items, to bottles, polythene bags, face masks, coffee cups, trash bags, food packaging etc. The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) states that around the world, one million plastic bottles are purchased every minute, while up to five trillion plastic bags are used worldwide every year. In total, half of all plastic produced is designed for single-use purposes – to be used just once and then thrown away. In a bid to tackle the growing crisis of waste generated from single-use-plastic, the Ministry for Environment, Forest and Climate Change had issued the notification last year in August announcing a ban on single-use plastic beginning July 2022. The ministry along with Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) now has come out with detailed guidelines on what will be banned from the market starting July 1 and the penalty associated with it. The notification said, “The manufacture, import, stocking, distribution, sale and use of single-use plastic, including polystyrene and expanded polystyrene, commodities like cutlery items including plates, cups, glasses to name a few shall be prohibited with effect from the July 1, 2022.’’ List Of Items That Will Be Banned From July 1, 2022 According to the notification following items will be banned: – Balloon sticks – Cigarette packs – Cutlery items including plates, cups, glasses, forks, spoons, knives, trays – Earbuds – Sweet boxes – Candy and ice cream sticks – Invitation cards – Polystyrene for decoration – PVC banners measuring under 100 microns Plastic Ban: What Will Change And How Will The Ban Be Enforced From July 1, 2022? The CPCB and State Pollution Control Boards (SPCBs) have issued the notification asking manufacturers, suppliers and consumers of the single-use plastic items to scrap the use of these products and phase out the use of single-use-plastic items thereby switching to more greener and sustainable alternatives. Directions have been issued at national, state and local levels, for example, it has been directed to all the petrochemical industries to not supply raw materials to industries engaged in the banned items. Local authorities too have been instructed to issue new commercial licenses with the condition that single-use plastic items will not be sold on their premises, and functioning commercial licenses will be cancelled if they are found to be retailing these items. According to the guidelines effective from July 1, the notification said that people found to be flouting the ban can be fined under the Environment Protection Act 1986, which permits jail of up to five years, or a penalty of up to Rs 1 lakh, or both. he ban will be monitored by the CPCB from the Centre, and by the State Pollution Control Boards (SPCBs) that will report to the Centre regularly. To ensure the effective enforcement of the ban, Environment, Forests and Climate Change Minister, Bhupender Yadav said that the centre will be setting up control rooms at national and state levels. These control rooms will be supervised by the Central Pollution Control Board and special enforcement teams. Along with this, these special enforcement teams will also keep a check on illegal manufacture, import, stocking, distribution, sale and use of the 12 banned single-use plastic items. States and Union Territories have also been asked to set up border checkpoints to stop inter-state movement of any banned single-use plastic item. On-Ground How Prepared Are The Industries For The Ban? Frooti and Appy maker Parle Agro’s CEO Schauna Chauhan while talking to PTI said government should look at extending the deadline by six months and said, It is critical to extend the deadline for developing local manufacturing capacities. She also said that even though the company has started importing paper straws for now, but it’s an unsustainable option and the “economics just does not match up for a Rs 10 product”. Ms Chauhan also said that 80% of the integrated straws are recycled, and countries like China and Thailand have allowed their use. She also mentions that it is not clear what would happen to the current stocks if the ban is enforced on July 1. Dairy giant Amul talking with PTI also urged the government to delay the ban by one year saying the move will have a “negative impact” on farmers and milk consumption. Citing global capacity constraints and logistical drawbacks, Parle Agro also warned that that the industry might have to close factory operations if the deadline is not extended. The company said that there is a global shortage of paper straws, only China, Indonesia and some European countries make paper straws and India comes low on their priority list. The company also said that those who are trying to import machines to make paper straws locally, it is a one-year wait. On the other hand, the All India Plastic Manufacturers Association (AIPMA) has warned that this move could leave about 88,000 units bankrupt. Speaking to the news agency AFP, Jayesh Khimji Rambhia, co-chairman of the environment committee of AIPMA said, Based on government data, about 88,000 units are engaged in the manufacturing of single-use plastic in the country. These units employ about 1 million people and contribute to exports worth Rs 25,000 crore. These 19 products are being used by various industries and while their replacements are there in the market, the companies are going to incur huge costs which will be ultimately passed on to the consumer. How Informed Are The People And Local Vendors About The Plastic Ban? Team Banega Swasth India also spoke with local vendors and people about the plastic ban taking place from July 1. A small fast food vendor from Sector 50, Noida said, I have been hearing about plastic bans since many years now. Initially it was on plastic bags – but you still find these being used by us small vendors. Why because there is no suitable cost-effective alternative for the same. A Dosa Van vendor from the same market added, Now, the ban is extended on other items including plates, cups, glasses, forks, spoons, knives, trays. I have been selling dosa, uttapam, idlli in this market for the last 30 years. I am using these single-use-plastic cutlery items because they are cheap. Now if they go away from the market – how will I continue to sell these products? I cannot afford greener alternatives as they are costly. Unless we have some viable solutions for the same at the same cost as these items, I don’t think these bans will be effective. On the other hand, we also asked consumers about the plastic ban and this is what they said: A 25-year-old MBA student Apoorva from Amity University said, There is no communication or awareness drive that has been conducted in our college by the municipality or in the area where I live, hence I am not aware on how this ban will take place. Simply by sending guidelines to companies will not make this ban effective. Authorities should have one concrete plan. I am still using these items and I can still see these items floating around in the market, so I am not sure, what is happening on ground. Why Banning Single-Use Plastic Is Important? UN Environment Programme states that since the 1970s, the rate of plastic production has grown faster than that of any other material. It adds that if historic growth trends continue, global production of primary plastic is forecasted to reach 1,100 million tonnes by 2050. It says that approximately 36 per cent of all plastics produced are used in packaging, including single-use plastic products for food and beverage containers, approximately 85 per cent of which ends up in landfills or as unregulated waste. Additionally, some 98 per cent of single-use plastic products are produced from fossil fuel. The level of greenhouse gas emissions associated with the production, use and disposal of conventional fossil fuel-based plastics is forecasted to grow to 19 per cent of the global carbon budget by 2040. Environment ministry adds that plastic waste poses a big threat to the environment as it remains in the environment for long duration of time and does not decay, eventually turning into microplastics, which first enters our food sources and then the human body. According to Plastic Soup Foundation, an organisation that was founded in 2011 with the goal to make everyone familiar with the phenomenon of plastic soup and to stop it at its source, states that plastic has already entered our food chain. It also adds that animals carry microplastics in their bodies, when they are themselves eaten, those microplastics are also ingested. This process is called ‘trophic transfer’ of microplastics. Since one animal eats another, microplastics can move through the food chain. Moreover, plastic neither decomposes nor can be burned as it releases noxious fumes and hazardous gases during the process. Thus, storing plastic items remains the only feasible solution besides recycling. The official data by the Environment Ministry adds that over 34 lakh tonnes of plastic waste was generated in 2019-20 up from 30.59 lakh tonnes in 2018-19 in India. Keeping the statistics in mind, the government has taken the step of banning such plastic items this will also help the government to trim its plastic waste generation but it all depends on how effectively the ban will be implemented. Experts View Talking about the ban in one of her recent blogs, Sunita Narain, Director General of Centre for Science and Environment says, The current ban on single-use plastics is too limited. According to the latest report of the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), the ban on carry bags have been implemented in as many as 25 states and Union Territories in India. But we know that the enforcement is inadequate. The current list of banned items is not comprehensive, the list should have included multi-layered packaging. Nalini Shekar, Co-founder and Executive Director of Hasiru Dala – an organization that seeks to enhance the lives of waste-pickers and bettering waste collection in Bengaluru adds, The state of Karnataka announced a ban on using all plastics below the thickness of 40 microns back in 2016. I think, what worked in our favour is the citizen participation. Here people take their steel containers to pack their takeaways or eat at restaurants. Citizens are aware of the plastic menace. I think, we should aim for behavioural change communication in other states as well. United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) states that according to recent estimations, roughly 100,000 marine mammals are killed every year as a result of eating plastic. It also adds that scientists have found plastic fibers, fragments, and micro-beads in both marine and freshwater fish, wild-caught and farmed. And adds of the 114 species known to have plastic in their stomachs, we end up eating more than half of them. UNEP also adds that species such as plankton, bivalves, fish and whales regularly consume microplastics as they look just like their food. As a result, they suffer from clogged digestive tracts, loss of appetite and changes in feeding behaviour, which later affect their growth and reproductive capability.

• Director General Office

This Is What a Radical Plastic Ban Looks Like

As dawn breaks out over New Delhi, 15-year-old Alamgir Munna picks up his thela (cart) and heads out for work, such that it is. At an age when he should be in school, the young ragpicker sifts through heaps of garbage for scraps of salable plastic and metals at the Okhla landfill, one of the three giant dumping grounds in the sprawling Indian capital, which produces about 10,000 tons of garbage every day. Munna is among the estimated 150,000 ragpickers in Delhi who work at the country’s three trash mountains—one of which is as tall as the Taj Mahal. Not officially recognized as sanitation workers, they brave the methane and other deadly chemicals from the decomposing waste, wild dogs, disease and putrid stench, to recycle about a fifth of the city’s garbage. Munna makes a pittance, about 500 rupees, or $7, a day for his back-breaking work. Even that sad apology for a livelihood is about to disappear as India is set to implement a ban starting July 1 on single-use plastics, which are used to make items like earbuds, lollipop sticks, polystyrene packets, plates, cups, spoons, packaging wraps, cigarette packs and stirrers, among the other items of daily use that populate our life. Manufacture, import, stocking, distribution, sale, and use of these items made of single-use plastics which have “low utility and high littering potential” will not be allowed anymore, according to the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. Penalties include up to five years in jail, 100,000 rupees ($1,200) or both. Like many other migrants who clean after the city’s leftovers, Munna is contemplating leaving Delhi and returning to his village. With the ban looming and no alternative livelihood in sight, he is bracing for an uncertain economic future—along with the rest of India’s 5 million ragpickers, equivalent to Ireland’s total population. For someone like him, with no skills or education and just about surviving on the margins of society—and the law—economic uncertainty is a euphemism for destitution, hunger, and worse. The outlook is far less dire but no less alarming for the country’s 50,000 plastic manufacturing units—most of them small and medium-sized companies that, combined, employ about 400,000 people—as well as consumer conglomerates that depend on plastic for their wares. Leading beverage companies, for example, have been pleading with the government to put off the ban as they struggle to find replacements for the ubiquitous plastic straws accompanying their drink products. As India finally takes the plunge in the war against plastic, the confusion, panic and uncertainty mirror the global struggle to transition away from plastic-dependence that is crucial to meet emission goals. It also underscores the urgency of breaking an addiction that is wrecking the planet and the heavy price nations have to pay for it. Few countries exemplify the double bind more than India. The Environmental Performance Index report for 2022 released on June 5 by Yale and Columbia universities ranks India (tied with Nigeria) as the least environmentally sustainable country out of a list of 180. India has rejected the findings of the report, but it accounts for a third of the 11 million tons of plastic waste flowing into the oceans every year, according to government figures. The country’s laws require all plastic waste to be separated and reused in projects like paving road and that only a small percentage of recyclables should be dumped in landfills. Mountains of garbage such as the one at Okhla speak otherwise. More than 40% of the total plastic waste in India is not even collected, let alone separated and recycled. Some Indian states, such as Maharashtra and Karnataka have tried to ban single-use plastic in the past, but those efforts have largely been failures. That leave many skeptical about the new nationwide attempt. But Venkatesh Dutta, a professor at the School of Earth and Environmental Sciences in the Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar University says that unlike the unsuccessful bans of plastic bags that have been tried earlier, this time the federal government is addressing the problem through the entire supply chain—starting from banning the manufacture and distribution of single-use plastic to banning its sale, possession, and imports. If this national ban going into effect July 1 works, India will replace single-use plastic bags with thicker ones that are more durable, which in turn should help reduce overall plastic use. It will also move a step closer to eliminating multilayered plastic in future, the final frontier in the war on non-recyclables. The government has been toying with the idea of banning multilayered plastic, used in consumer-packaged goods of all manner, from ready-to-eat snacks to milk packets, but has been held back by the economic disruption such a move could unleash. That poses a problem for the lofty goals that the world has set for itself. In what the United Nations Environment Programme calls the most important environmental deal since the 2015 Paris Agreement, 175 countries, including India, signed a treaty this March at the UN Environment Assembly that pledged to end plastic pollution by formulating an internationally binding treaty by 2024. But transitions such as these are daunting even for the most advanced of economies. Earlier this month, the U.S. announced a plan to phase out the sale of single-use plastic products in national parks and other public lands, but only by 2032. For a country such as India aiming for a more radical ban and much earlier, the challenges are even greater. But Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government, which first announced the single-use plastic ban in 2016, has refused to budge in the face of the chorus of appeals from industry groups to postpone the ban. Sunita Narain, director of the Center for Science and Environment in New Delhi, says pushing through the ban is one thing, but implementing it is a different matter altogether, given the limited resources of the country’s pollution board, lack of public awareness, and a proper plan to transition into recyclables. “You can’t just dictate these things,” says Narain. “It has to be a priority for the government to support the small-scale industries in the transition process.” Companies recycling waste plastic into products such as tiles and furniture often struggle to compete in the market because of their high production costs. Environmentalists like Narain have been calling for government incentives to help such companies in the recycling business. Recycling is the way to go, not fines and bans Globally, Kenya’s 2017 ban on single-use plastic bags, which imposed one of the heaviest fines in the world for manufacturing or possessing plastic, is often hailed as one of the most successful steps toward eliminating plastic. But Leah Oyake-Ombis, director of the Africa Livelihood Innovations for Sustainable Environment Consulting Group at the University of Nairobi and a notable critic of the ban, advocates a different approach, which emphasizes recycling and waste management over fines or bans. Developing economies are more likely to benefit more from this strategy, thanks to the employment opportunities it can create within the recycling chain, Oyake-Ombis says. Government subsidies would be key to creating jobs while transitioning. But right now the bigger problem is keeping jobs. Much of the loss will be felt in India’s vast informal economy, which employs more than 80% of its workers such as Munna. “What will we do when there are no plastics to sell?” Munna asks, perhaps looking for suggestions. In the formal sector, while India’s consumer goods companies will in general suffer as a result of the ban, small companies will be hit disproportionately harder, says Ashok Kumar Agarwal, president of the Indian Industries Association. That’s because, unlike conglomerates, they won’t be able to absorb the coming losses. “The government should offer subsidies for new machines, and other incentives for the transition to alternatives,” he says. As of now, there is no such assistance available, creating a supply crunch in recyclable replacements for the plastic needed to make consumer packaged goods. It also keeps plastic much cheaper than the alternatives available. In 2016, the same year that the Indian government announced the plastic ban, Hemant Rohra left his full-time job and took a huge personal risk to start a small business making carry bags using a more biodegradable form of polypropylene—the basic element used to make plastic—by adding calcium and other minerals to it. He had hoped that demand for biodegradable bags would increase with time. But it didn’t happen, as his bags cost six times more than regular plastic bags. He now wants lower taxes for his products. But more importantly, he says, the government should make sure that the ban is implemented properly. In India, ambitious laws can often be applied lightly on the ground, allowing for loopholes. Similar expectations for this plastic ban is not misplaced given that industry groups have been urging the government to extend the deadline or go slow even days before the law is to kick in. But the government is in no mood to bend. It is setting up control rooms and special enforcement teams across the country. State border checkpoints have been asked to look out for the banned items. As Environment, Forests and Climate Change Minister Bhupender Yadav, said on June 28, “We have given manufacturers plenty of time for preparation—11 months—before the ban was to come into force.”

• Director General Office

Make or break moment

Plastic items difficult to collect or recycle should be eliminated from use. This is where the current ban, however limited, fits in India's ban on certain items that are defined as single-use plastics has come into effect from July 1, in the midst of enormous pressure from certain industries to defer the deadline. The fact is that the current ban on single-use plastics is too limited, though it is a critical step to control the menace. We do not need to be warned about the problem. We live it every day. Our cities are littered with non-biodegradable plastic material, and it is greatly adding to environmental stress and degradation. The way ahead is to ensure that ubiquitous plastic items in our daily lives are recycled or disposed of safely. For this, we need a three-pronged strategy: • First, all the plastic produced and used should be collected for disposal • Second, the waste plastic material must be recycled or incinerated — it should not reach landfills or choke our water bodies • Third, the reuse or disposal has to be in a manner that is environmentally friendly and does not end up creating more pollution or health hazard for workers But, most importantly, those plastic items that are difficult to collect or recycle should be eliminated from use. This is where the current ban, however limited, fits in. The objective is to identify items of everyday utility that are used once and thrown and added to litter. This is why the list of banned items includes earbuds, cutlery, straws and carry bags (of thickness less than 120 micron, by December 2022). The ban on carry bags is not novel. As many as 25 states and Union Territories have already banned them, as per the latest report of the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). The states say it is difficult to regulate this item based on plastic thickness. But we know that the enforcement is inadequate. This is why implementation of the new ban will make or break India's fight against plastic waste. The current list of banned items is not comprehensive. One can argue that if the aim is to get rid of the items that are difficult to collect or are single-use, then this list should have included multi-layered packaging. This is what is used in almost all fast-moving consumer goods—from chips to shampoos to gutka pouches. This is the real menace when it comes to plastic contamination because these items are almost impossible to collect and absolutely impossible to process. The only thing that can be done with this packaging material is to send it to cement plants for incineration. This is why the few studies — mostly done by CPCB — on the characteristics of plastic found in landfill sites show up this single-use plastic. The government said all packaging material has been included as part of the extended producer responsibility (EPR) notification. Under this, the companies that manufacture or consume this material are required to take it back and send it for reprocessing. Even company-wise annual targets have been fixed on how much is to be recollected. This sounds good on paper, but there are huge problems in the way EPR has been designed or is being implemented. For instance, there is no information on the quantity of this plastic material or the waste the company generates. Not only is it based on self-declaration, but there is nothing available in the public domain to assess its accuracy. This means the target that has been set for each company is meaningless. There is no benchmark on which it can be said to be adequate. Worse, under EPR, companies are required to recycle or reprocess the material they collect only by 2024. The question, then, is what is happening to the plastic waste that is being collected — is it being stored or dumped? I saw this in practice when I visited an authorised Producer Responsibility Organisation (PRO), an agency that is contracted by companies to collect waste on their behalf to meet the EPR targets. This pro was getting waste from municipal bodies. It would put the waste on large conveyor belts, where its staff would pick up the items to sort them into different bundles — from aluminium tins to pouches. The problem was what to do with the sorted material? The PRO would sell what was of value, but items that could not be recycled were simply stored in the same warehouse. I saw mountains of neatly sorted and bundled multi-layered packages and pouches. The PRO said it was running out of space and the only option was to send the material for incineration to cement companies; but the transport cost was prohibitive. Back to square one. Only this time, the waste was not littered but packed, with nowhere to go but, perhaps, a dump yard. This is why the most contentious issue is what we mean by recycling. We would like to assuage our guilt by believing that the waste we throw is reprocessed. But we must understand that this is either not happening, or if it is happening, it is because of the millions of poor people working in the informal sector who manage to make value out of our refuse. They are the real waste warriors. It is time we understand this so that we become responsible for our own waste and not use the banned items today, and ask for more to be banned tomorrow — because we must and can live without them. DTE The writer is the Director-General of CSE and editor of DownToEarth. Views expressed are personal

• Solid Waste Management and Circular Economy

From Tomorrow, 19 Single-Use Plastic Items Will Be Banned, Govt Rules Out Extension Of Deadline

Amid concerns from the industry and skepticism over its feasibility the single-use plastic (SUP) ban which India had first proposed in 2018 is set to come into force from Saturday, July 1. The production, storage, sale and use of a total of 19 SUP items will become illegal from Friday. Earbuds, flags, candy, and ice-cream sticks, decorative thermocol, PVC banners less than 100 microns thick, stirrers, wrapping films, cups, glasses, carry bags (less than 75 microns), straws, and certain kinds of plastic packaging material are among those will become banned. Unlike the previous deadlines, this time the government has made it clear that the deadline for the single-use plastic ban is not going to be extended. The government declared that for effective enforcement of the ban on identified SUP items from July 1, national and state level control rooms will be set up and special enforcement teams will be formed for checking illegal manufacture, import, stocking, distribution, sale and use of banned single use plastic items. "States and Union Territories have been asked to set up border checkpoints to stop inter-state movement of any banned single use plastic items," the government said. The government claims there would be a total ban on manufacture, import, stocking, distribution, sale and use of identified SUP items that have low utility and high littering potential all across the country. "This is an important step in the fight against pollution. With the SUP ban, we are looking at getting rid of items that have low utility, have high littering potential and, equally, availability of alternatives," Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav said on Tuesday. Punishment for violation single-use plastic ban Those found violating the ban will be punished under the Environment (Protection) Act 1986. The EP Act provides for imprisonment up to 5 years, or a penalty up to Rs 1 lakh, or both depending upon the severity of the offence. This punitive action is however taken at the local bodies level. "The municipalities may do with a Rs 5,000 fine for using SUP items. But we have really left it to them for effective implementation," an Environment Ministry official said. Had enough time to adopt alternatives Recently, several top FMCG and beverages companies had sought an extension of the deadline for replacing plastic straws. However, the government said companies were given nearly a year from August 2021 to migrate to alternative products. The Ministry had earlier issued directions to the e-commerce companies regarding phasing out the identified items. While the government insists they are serious about the ban, many are still skeptical. "Forget small items such as candy sticks or polythene, the pollution control agencies have spectacularly failed to take any punitive actions against big pollutants, either dumping industrial effluents in the rivers and water bodies or local bodies sending in sewage. It is the same SPCBs/PCCs and their paraphernalia that have failed. How is this ban going to be different," asked Himanshu Thakkar of South Asia Network for Dams, Rivers and People (SANDRP). Single-Use Plastic Ban BCCL Many also pointed out that the government should focus on ending the use of multi-layer packaging instead of single-use plastic. This (MLP) is the real menace when it comes to plastic contamination because these items are almost impossible to collect and absolutely impossible to process." "The only thing that can be done with this packaging material is to send it to cement plants for incineration,” CSE director general Sunita Narain said.

• Solid Waste Management and Circular Economy

CSE Outlines Three-pronged Strategy To Deal With Plastic Waste

A “make-or-break ban” despite its limitations, says CSE of the ban on single-use plastics India is going to ban certain items that are defined as single-use plastics. Commenting on the ban taking effect from coming Friday, Sunita Narain, director general, Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), said: “Even as we believe that this ban is too limited, we have to admit that it is a critical step towards controlling the menace. We do not need to be warned about the problem. We live it every day. Our cities are littered with non-biodegradable plastic material, and it is greatly adding to environmental stress and degradation.” In an August 2021 notification, the Union ministry of environment, forest and climate change (MoEFCC) had defined single-use plastic commodities as “plastic items intended to be used once for the same purpose before being disposed of or recycled”. The notification had also put forward a plan for phasing out 21 selected single-use items. The ban that comes into effect this year will cover all these items, which include plastic carry bags (less than 75 micron in thickness, to be revised to 120 micron in December 2022), earbuds, plastic crockery items (spoons, plates, glasses etc), straws, and certain kinds of plastic packaging material. Narain says that the way ahead is to ensure that plastic items are recycled or disposed of safely. “For this, we need a three-pronged strategy,” she adds. “Firstly, all the plastic produced and used should be collected for disposal. Secondly, the waste plastic must be recycled or incinerated; it should not reach landfills or choke our waterbodies. Thirdly, the reuse or disposal has to be in a manner that is environmentally friendly and does not end up creating more pollution or health hazards. But most importantly, those plastic items that are difficult to collect or recycle should be eliminated from use. This is where the current ban, however limited, fits in.” The faultlines in the ban Implementation of the ban will be the key, say CSE researchers. The ban on plastic carry bags, for instance, is not novel. As many as 25 states and Union territories have already banned them, as per the latest report of the Central Pollution Control Board. While states say it is difficult to regulate this item based on plastic thickness, it is clear that the enforcement is inadequate. One of the main concerns with the ban is the fact that the list of banned items is not comprehensive, says Siddharth Singh, programme manager, Solid Waste Management unit, CSE. For one, the list does not include multi-layered packaging (MLP). CSE researchers point out that MLP is used in almost all fast-moving consumer goods, from chips to shampoos to gutka pouches. Says Narain: “This is the real menace when it comes to plastic contamination, because these items are almost impossible to collect and absolutely impossible to process. The only thing that can be done with this packaging material is to send it to cement plants for incineration.” The government says that all packaging material has been included as part of the extended producer responsibility (EPR) notification. Under this, the companies that manufacture or consume this material are required to take it back and send it for reprocessing – in fact, annual targets have been fixed for companies on how much is to be recollected. Narain points out that while this “sounds good on paper, there are huge problems in the way EPR has been designed or is being implemented. For instance, there is no information on the quantity of this plastic material or the waste the company generates. Not only is it based on self-declaration, but there is nothing available in the public domain to assess its accuracy. This means the target that has been set for each company is meaningless”. Worse, says Narain, under EPR, “companies are required to recycle or reprocess the material they collect only by 2024. The question, then, is what is happening to the plastic waste that is being collected -- is it being stored or dumped?” One of the plastic items listed for phase-out that is facing a lot of resistance is plastic straws. Giant FMCG companies are claiming that these are an inherent part of the product packaging and have a low littering propensity – these companies are seeking an extension of six-12 months on the ban. CSE researchers rubbish the claims, and point out that the industry has already received an extension of six months, with the deadline moved from January 1, 2022 to July 1, 2022. Narain says that “the most contentious issue right now is what we mean by recycling”. She adds: “We would like to assuage our guilt by believing that the waste we throw is ‘reprocessed’. But we must understand that this is either not happening, or if it is happening, it is being done by the millions of poor people working in the informal sector who manage to make value out of our refuse. They are the real waste warriors.” “It is time we understood this so that we become responsible for our own waste and not use the banned items today, and ask for more to be banned tomorrow—because we must and can live without them,” says Narain.

• Solid Waste Management and Circular Economy

Ban on single-use plastic by July 1, is India Inc ready?

India generates 3.5 million tonnes of plastic waste a year. The government data reveals that India’s per capita plastic waste generation is 3 kg per year. The government is all set to implement the ban on single-use plastic from July 1. Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke about India’s move in this direction from the ramparts of the Lal Quila on January 26, 2019. Thereafter, in a notification that was issued on August 12, 2021, the government prohibits the manufacture, import, stocking, distribution, sale, and use of all identified single-use plastic items, which have low utility and high littering potential with effect from July 1, 2022. Currently, PET bottles that are used to package water do not fall under this category. The ministry is looking at a three-pronged strategy for banning single-use plastic in India: 1. High littering potential - This means products that are quickly thrown away post usage. Most of these are disposable items that are found in drains and are seen as products that contribute to littering. 2. Low utility - These are plastic products that have the least amount of usage or utility after being used. For instance, wrapping plastic sheets is hardly utilised after the packaging is opened. 3. Availability of alternative - If other alternatives can be used in their place. For instance, paper bags, paper wrappings (which can be made from recycled material), bamboo spoons instead of plastic spoons, etc. LANDSCAPE OF PLASTIC WASTE GENERATION IN INDIA India generates 3.5 million tonnes of plastic waste a year. The government data reveals that India’s per capita plastic waste generation is 3 kg per year. Plastic waste generation during the year 2020-21 is approximately 41,26,997 tonnes per annum as per information provided by all State Pollution Control Boards. Sunita Narain, director general, Centre for Science and Environment, says the way ahead is to ensure that plastic items are recycled or disposed of safely. “For this, we need a three-pronged strategy,” she adds. “Firstly, all the plastic produced and used should be collected for disposal. Secondly, the waste plastic must be recycled or incinerated; it should not reach landfills or choke our waterbodies. Thirdly, the reuse or disposal has to be in a manner that is environmentally friendly and does not end up creating more pollution or health hazards. But most importantly, those plastic items that are difficult to collect or recycle should be eliminated from use. This is where the current ban, however limited, fits in.” IS THE INDUSTRY READY TO COMPLY WITH SINGLE-USE PLASTIC BAN? While the government agencies seem ready to bring in enforcement, is the industry ready to change? The Confederation of All India Traders ( CAIT) has sent a communique to Union environment Minister Bhupendra Yadav to extend the last date of imposition of the ban on single-use plastic to one year from July 1, 2022, but has also urged to constitute a joint committee of senior government officials and representatives of stakeholder with a time-bound mandate of suggesting equitable alternatives to single-use plastic so that without any disruption, the country stop using single-use plastic. The letter is the outcome of deliberations held on this critical issue by more than 100 trade leaders from all states of the country at a two-day national conference of CAIT being held at Nagpur in Maharashtra. CAIT National President B C Bhartia & Secretary General Praveen Khandelwal said that "undoubtedly the pollution of the environment is a big threat to human civilisation and corrective steps are much needed to protect the environment. However, before any imposition of the ban, it is all the more necessary to keep equivalent alternatives ready to shift the usage." MULTI-LAYER PACKAGING IN FMCG GOODS, A CHALLENGE Environmental researchers state that the current list of banned items does not include multi-layered packaging (MLP). CSE researchers point out that MLP is used in almost all fast-moving consumer goods, from chips to shampoos to gutka pouches. The government says that all packaging material has been included as part of the extended producer responsibility (EPR) notification. Under this, the companies that manufacture or consume this material are required to take it back and send it for reprocessing. Annual targets have been fixed for companies on how much is to be recollected. The environment ministry has also set aside a target for the manufacturing industry on recycling. “By 2026-2027, manufacturers will have to recycle 100 per cent of all their plastic packaging," said environment ministry officials. But currently, the target falls behind. By 2022-23, companies are expected to recycle 70 per cent of their plastic. Narain points out that while this “sounds good on paper, there are huge problems in the way EPR has been designed or is being implemented. For instance, there is no information on the quantity of this plastic material or the waste the company generates. Not only is it based on self-declaration, but there is nothing available in the public domain to assess its accuracy. This means the target that has been set for each company is meaningless”. Worse, says Narain, under EPR, “companies are required to recycle or reprocess the material they collect only by 2024. The question, then, is what is happening to the plastic waste that is being collected -- is it being stored or dumped?” LOSS OF LIVELIHOODS IN INDIA CAIT said that it should not be forgotten that, over a longer period, single-use plastic has emerged as a much bigger industry giving employment to lakhs of people in the country and having an annual turnover of more than Rs 60 thousand crores. Banks and financial institutions have a great stake in the single-use plastic industry and a situation of a complete ban without providing any equitable alternative will cause massive destruction in the working vertical of retail trade in India. “Since traders are the first connection point for the consumers and the public, they will have to face the consequences, though the traders selling the products are acting merely as a component of the supply chain, making things available to the public. However, 98 per cent of single-use plastic is used by MNCs, Corporate Manufacturers, producers, e-commerce companies, warehousing hubs, industry and other types of production units either in their production line or packaging of finished goods,” said the CAIT communique to the environment minister. “The traders are under compulsion to sell goods in whatever pack they receive from the manufacturer or source of origin. Unless and until these companies and manufacturing units are not compelled to stop the use of single-use plastic either in the production line or in the packing of finished goods, there will always be an occasion for the usage of single-use plastic at the consumer end,” it said. WHICH NATIONS HAVE BANNED SINGLE-USE PLASTIC? As of July 2019, 68 countries have plastic bag bans with various labels of enforcement. Recently, Canada announced to ban single-use plastic in their nation from December 2022. The sale will be banned with effect from December 2023 and the country has also said it will stop exporting such plastic by 2025. Bangladesh has banned thin plastic since 2002, while New Zealand banned plastic bags in July 2019. China issued a ban on plastic bags in 2020 with a phased implementation. The European Union issued a directive to ban single-use plastics on July 2, 2021. Eight states in the United States have banned single-use plastic bags, beginning with California in 2014. Seattle became the first major US city to ban plastic straws in 2018, although environmentalists say these are just piecemeal efforts because the United States ranks as the world’s leading contributor of plastic waste, according to a congressionally mandated report released last year. COMPLIANCE IN INDIA While speaking to the media, Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav said that control rooms would be set up to monitor and ensure the enforcement of the ban at the national and state levels. “To curb the supply of identified items, directions have been issued at the national, state, and local levels. For example, all leading petrochemical industries do not supply plastic raw materials to the industries engaged in banned SUP production,’ informed the minister. Those found violating the ban can be penalised under the Environment Protection Act 1986 which allows for imprisonment up to five years, a penalty up to Rs 1 lakh, or both. Violators can also be asked to pay Environmental Damage Compensation by the SPCB. In addition, there are municipal laws on plastic waste, with their penal codes. SUP Compliance Monitoring portal has also been created. However, massive awareness and advocacy are also important, believe the ministry officials.

• Solid Waste Management and Circular Economy

Can a waste-to-energy plant address piling concerns from a landfill site?

In India, Waste-to-Energy (WTE) plants are being considered the ultimate solution for the country’s burgeoning waste. However, there is strong opposition from the public for the recently proposed WTE plant at Bandhwari. According to waste management experts, the waste generated in India is not fit for incineration owing its composition, low calorific value and moisture content. Many countries across the world have realised the limitations of WTE plants and are now shifting focus to reducing waste and segregating at the source. The video discusses Bandhwari’s WTE plant and its expansion, the lack of waste segregation in Indian cities, and a hopeful example in waste management from Gurugram. On June 13, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) issued a notice to the Haryana government regarding inaction over hazardous waste contaminating the groundwater near the Bandhwari landfill. The waste dumping site, located near the Delhi and Haryana border, has been in the news for many years now. To deal with the many health, environmental, and waste management challenges, the Haryana government has proposed a Waste-to-Energy (WTE) plant. In 2018, Haryana’s Chief Minister M.L. Khattar laid the foundation stone for a 15 megawatt (MW) capacity plant. Later, when a proposal was mooted to increase its capacity from 15 MW to 25 MW, it received intense opposition from the local people. “On August 31 last year, a public hearing was organised regarding the increase of the capacity of the proposed WTE plants. Around 300 people were present there. Everyone opposed the plan vehemently,” informs Neelam Ahulawalia from Aravalli Bachao Citizens Group which has run an online campaign against the proposed WTE plant which has received support from more than 34,000 people. In their petition, they have argued, “Despite the fact that waste incineration is a completely failed model in India, the Haryana government is in the process of setting up a waste-to-energy plant in our Aravalli Forest at the Bandhwari landfill site, which is not only a complete waste of huge amount of money but is another environmental disaster in the making.” Their fear seems reasonable when one looks at the history of WTE plants in India. The first WTE plant was set up in Timarpur in Delhi in 1987. Built by a company from Denmark, the plant was supposed to incinerate 300 tonnes of municipal solid waste per day to generate 3.75 MW of electricity. Established with the cost of Rs. 20 crores, the plant survived for only around 20 days. The reason for its failure was the poor quality of waste coming to the plant, states Dharmesh Shah, a technical advisor with Legal Initiative for Forest and Environment (LIFE), a non-governmental organisation. This WTE plant failure story has continued since then. “A total of 14 WTE plants have been installed in India, out of which seven plants were closed,” informs Swati Singh Sambyal, an independent waste management and circular economy expert. Burgeoning waste Landfills have become a common feature of the landscape in many Indian cities. Increasing population, urbanisation and industrialisation are some of the main reasons for increased waste generation. A 2018 World Bank report also underlined the connection between economic development and waste generation. During the budget session in 2022, Ashwini Kumar Choubey, Minister of State in the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MOEFCC) informed that the total quantity of solid waste generated in the country was 1,50,761 tonnes per day (TPD) in 2019-20. The same World Bank report from 2018 states that India’s per capita waste generation lies at 0.57 kg per day as compared to 0.52 kg in South Asia and 0.74 kg at the global level. India, however, is yet to find a sustainable way to deal with this burgeoning waste in every city. Talking to Mongabay-India, founder and CEO of iForest, Chandra Bhushan says, “Our capacity to manage waste has not grown with the pace of our capacity to generate waste. There is a huge gap between the quantity and quality of waste we are generating, and the capacity of the municipality to manage that waste.” iForest is a Delhi-based think-tank. To deal with these challenges, state governments are relying on WTE plants. The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy’s (MNRE) website says that the total estimated energy generation potential from urban and industrial organic waste in India is approximately 5690 MW. A report titled To Burn or Not To Burn, by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) that was published in 2019, says that plants of a combined capacity of 382.7 MW are proposed in India. According to the report, the plants with a capacity of 69.2 MW are operational, the ones with a capacity of 84.3 MW are under construction and 66.35 MW plants are non-functional. Sambyal is one of the authors of this report. Timarpur-Okhla WTE plant in New Delhi. Photo by Kundan Pandey/Mongabay. Timarpur-Okhla WTE plant in New Delhi. Photo by Kundan Pandey/Mongabay. Waste not fit for incineration The proposed Bandhwari WTE plant is one among these plants and the Aravali Bachao Citizens Group opposes the plant on various grounds including a CPCB report, which says that the waste dumped at the Bandhwari site is not fit for incineration. “This is true for almost all the WTE plants,” Sambyal says, adding that most of the waste sent to WTE plants is unsegregated and has inert content which is not suitable for burning in WTE plants. She says, “Additional fuel is required to burn this waste which makes the plant unviable. This is the reason why WTE plants in many cities are not functioning properly or were shut down.” The quality of waste suitable for the WTE plant is decided based on its composition, calorific value, and moisture content. The existing waste going to WTE plants is majorly organic waste. To Burn or Not to Burn says that organic waste is around 40-70 percent of the total waste, paper and cardboard contribute about 6 to 7 percent, and then come recyclable plastic (6 to 10 percent), and non-recyclable plastic (5-10 percent). Other than this, metal, glass and domestic hazardous waste contribute around 1- 3 percent. Sambyal explains, “Indian waste has low calorific value and high moisture content. The calorific value of waste in India ranges from 1,411 to 2,150 kcal/kg. If it is compared to the calorific value of garbage in Sweden, Norway, Germany, and USA ranges between 1,900 and 3,800 kcal/kg; India’s is too low to burn. In this case, these plants need supplementary energy to burn the waste.” Pollution coming from WTE plants is another issue and the poor quality of waste put into the plants is making them unviable. Bhushan explains that most of these plants are established at competitive bidding, which means they have to provide energy at 5 or 7 rupees per unit. If supplementary energy is needed, they are not economically viable and get closed down. More than half of the WTE plants have shut down today, which says that technology improvements don’t work with the quality of waste that is being generated today. To add a comparative perspective, solar and wind energy cost somewhere between Rs. 2 and Rs. 3 per unit while the tariff of thermal energy is in the range of Rs. 4.5 to Rs 6. However, Shah has a completely different take on the factor about energy. He says that the energy part of this project is negligible. “WTE is just a waste management tool. The Waste-to-Energy was brought in because ‘incineration’ got a very bad name in the Global North. A lot of the communities were protesting it because the plants were polluting a lot. The industry then came up with a new idea and named it WTE, adding an energy component to it. Energy is negligible and it can never be competitive unless it gets a huge subsidy,” he tells Mongabay-India. An interim dump site at Sikanderpur where garbage is brought from various parts of Gurugram before it's sent to Bandhwari landfill. Photo by Shaz Syed/Mongabay. An interim dump site at Sikanderpur where garbage is brought from various parts of Gurugram before it’s sent to Bandhwari landfill. Photo by Shaz Syed/Mongabay. Controversies over WTE plants around the world Bandhwari is not the only place where people are protesting against the WTE plants. The proposals of installing WTE plants in Mumbai, Bengaluru and even Delhi for Okhla WTE plants, have been met with protests. The residents and environmental activists are concerned about the impact of WTE plants on their health. A resident of Sukhdev Vihar in Delhi said that this fear is not without any reason. “We are concerned about our health. Earlier, the National Green Tribunal fined the Okhla WTE plant for violating pollution norms. The plant is set up at a 40-metre distance from Sukhdev Vihar, violating all the norms,” he claims. Similar fear prevails among citizens in other cities as well. Responding to a question relating to the health concerns of citizens, Shah claims that there is ample evidence globally that talks about the health impact of WTE plants. “A report from Zero Waste Europe funded by the European Commission has a compilation of case studies of incineration and its impact on human health,” Shah tells Mongabay-India. He adds, “Where WTE plants are running in western Europe and the USA, investments are way high. We spend a fraction of that. I have compared the Okhla incinerator, which costs 200 crore rupees, at least 10 times less than any incinerator running in West Europe. That itself is a big concern because most of the plants are under pollution control. They are inherently polluting. So, they invest the most amount of money in the pollution control component. Here they cut the cost, so pollution control is substandard. In urban areas, burning waste is one major reason for air pollution. Now, you are legitimising it by burning substandard waste in an incinerator.” “Europe has some of the most advanced burning facilities, still, the sub-continent has taken the first step to phase out incinerators and pushing for a circular economy,” he said. Since 1997, the USA has not seen a single new incinerator due to people’s resistance, health-related risk and high cost. The EU is facing another challenge. Due to better waste management strategies in the EU, incinerators are not getting sufficient waste for burning. There are more incinerators than the waste available for burning. This has led countries like Germany, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Sweden, Denmark and Spain to import trash from elsewhere. Hundreds of municipalities around Europe have now set Zero Waste as their new goal. The Philippines has officially banned incineration and few other countries have expressed a desire to phase it out, he adds. The Bandhwari garbage landfill towering at over 40 metres visible at a distance from Gurugram city. Photo by Shaz Syed/Mongabay. The Bandhwari garbage landfill towering at over 40 metres visible at a distance from Gurugram city. Photo by Shaz Syed/Mongabay. Way forward Despite all these facts, Indian authorities seem dedicated to WTE plants as a solution to India’s waste management problems. When asked why, Chandra Bhushan says that the easy way to handle waste is driving towards WTE. “Other solutions need hard work which includes convincing people to segregate waste at source, taking the community together, decentralizing waste management, etc.,” he adds. Sambyal adds that there are flaws in the execution of existing policies. “We have to understand the composition of waste. Only 10 to 15 percent of total waste is incinerable. Without understanding this, people are considering WTE plants as the ultimate solution to waste management. For instance, in Delhi, around 80 percent of the processing is happening via incineration, which is not sustainable. Based on the total waste production, we don’t need WTE plants in each and every city. We may need it regionally or state-wise,” she adds. Shah stresses that many developed countries are moving towards reducing waste. “You have waste management rules which clearly say that waste should be segregated at source, and you have to decentralise waste management. This is the reason Bengaluru is doing far better than Delhi. In Bengaluru, they have managed to set up a waste management centre in each ward, what we call a dry waste collection centre and waste collection centre. So waste is segregated at home and then only it is collected, and each set of waste is going to a different centre as per its nature,” he concludes. Out first video in the series highlighted the non-compliance of rules at the landfill site and the socio-economic disadvantages that arise due to improper waste management. Watch the full video here:

• Solid Waste Management and Circular Economy

Ban on Single-Use Plastics May Face Enforcement Challenges

One of these items facing stiff resistance from related powerful FMCG industries is plastic straws, which are demanding an extension of six-12 months on the ban. However, their demand is being rebuffed by environmentalists. India is going to ban certain specified Single-Use Plastics (SUP) from July 1. The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change notified the Plastic Waste Management Amendment Rules, 2021, on August 12 last year to this effect. In the notification, SUP commodities were defined as “Plastic items intended to be used once for the same purpose before being disposed of or recycled”. The country will ban the manufacture, import, stocking, distribution, sale and use of identified single-use plastic items, which have low utility and high littering potential, all across the country. The objective behind the move is said to be to mitigate the adverse impacts of littered single-use plastic items plastic on both terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, including in marine environments, which are globally recognised. The list of 21 banned items includes - earbuds with plastic sticks, plastic sticks for balloons, plastic flags, candy sticks, ice-cream sticks, polystyrene (thermocol) for decoration, plastic plates, cups, glasses, cutlery such as forks, spoons, knives, straw, trays, wrapping or packing films around sweet boxes, invitation cards, cigarette packets, plastic or PVC banners less than 100-micron stirrers. One of these items facing stiff resistance from related powerful FMCG industries is plastic straws. They are demanding an extension of six-12 months on the ban. However, their demand is being rebuffed by environmentalists who say that the plastic straw-based industries did not utilise the extension of six months already given to them, with the deadline moved from January 1 to July 1, 2022. Seeking another extension is just a ploy to dilute the ban on plastic straws. Another valid objection raised is that the list of banned items is not comprehensive, as the list does not include Multi-Layered Packaging (MLP). MLP is used in almost all fast-moving consumer goods, from chips to shampoos to gutka pouches. Sunita Narain, director general, Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), Narain said, "This is the real menace when it comes to plastic contamination because these items are almost impossible to collect and absolutely impossible to process. The only thing that can be done with this packaging material is to send it to cement plants for incineration.” The Plastic Waste Management Amendment Rules, 2021 also prohibit the manufacture, import, stocking, distribution, sale, and use of plastic carry bags having a thickness less than seventy-five microns with effect from September 30, 2021, and having a thickness less than a thickness of 120 microns with effect from December 31, 2022. The Ministry also framed guidelines on Extended Producers Responsibility on plastic packaging as Plastic Waste Management Amendment Rules, 2022 on February 16 this year. Extended Producer Responsibility is the responsibility of a producer for the environmentally sound management of the product until the end of its life. The catch here is that the onus to recycle or reprocess the collected SUP material by 2024 has been put on plastic producers/industries. However, no clarification has been given as to what will be done to the plastic waste, which can neither be recycled nor reprocessed. As many as 25 states and Union Territories have already banned SUP, as per the latest report of the Central Pollution Control Board. Gurdeep Singh Batra, president of the Plastic Manufacturers and Trader Association in Punjab, told NewsClick, “Industries need a uniform central government notification across the country to avoid any confusion or obstacles in the implementation of the ban. We know that the single-use plastic ban process has been enforced for the last five years in some parts of the country, and each state notified their own rules and bans specific plastic items putting industries into a tizzy and left at the mercy of concerned departments including pollution control, district administration, the municipal corporation and the police." Sunita Narain recommended the way to deal with the discarded SUP, saying, “For this, we need a three-pronged strategy. Firstly, all the plastic produced and used should be collected for disposal. Secondly, the waste plastic must be recycled or incinerated; it should not reach landfills or choke our water bodies. Thirdly, the reuse or disposal has to be in a manner that is environmentally friendly and does not end up creating more pollution or health hazards. But most importantly, those plastic items that are difficult to collect or recycle should be eliminated from use. This is where the current ban, however limited, fits in.”

• Down To Earth

Angela Merkel preside ao júri do Prémio Gulbenkian para a Humanidade. Antiga chanceler sucede a Jorge Sampaio

Angela Merkel irá presidir ao júri do prémio para a Humanidade da Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian. Trata-se do primeiro cargo aceite desde que a ex-chanceler alemã cessou funções. A ex-chanceler alemã Angela Merkel vai presidir ao júri do Prémio Gulbenkian para a Humanidade, no valor de um milhão de euros, sucedendo ao antigo Presidente da República Jorge Sampaio, anunciou esta quinta-feira a Fundação. “Trata-se do primeiro cargo aceite por Merkel desde que cessou funções como chanceler em dezembro de 2021“, destacou a Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian, em comunicado. O Prémio Gulbenkian para a Humanidade distingue pessoas, grupos ou organizações de todo o mundo que se destaquem no combate à crise climática. Foi atribuído pela primeira vez, em 2020, à jovem ativista sueca Greta Thunberg, que decidiu distribuir o montante por vários projetos ambientais e humanitários. Entre as potenciais áreas de reconhecimento pelo prémio, estão as que possam contribuir para reduzir ou remover emissões de gases com efeito de estufa, as ações para aumentar a resiliência das pessoas e do ambiente aos impactos das alterações climáticas e ainda a mobilização de recursos financeiros, públicos ou privados, para acelerar a descarbonização da economia. No ano passado, o prémio foi atribuído ao Pacto de Autarcas para o Clima e Energia, a maior aliança global para a liderança climática das cidades, sendo constituída por mais de 10.600 cidades e governos locais de 140 países, incluindo Portugal, de acordo com a informada divulgada pela fundação. O montante do prémio foi utilizado para apoiar a transição energética e a resiliência climática em África, tendo sido financiados “projetos de grande dimensão” em cinco cidades no Senegal (fornecimento de água potável) e numa cidade nos Camarões (desenvolvimento de soluções de eficiência energética). Fazem parte do júri, Miguel Bastos Araújo (investigador no Museu Nacional de Ciências Naturais, em Madrid e catedrático de Biogeografia na Universidade de Évora, Prémio Pessoa 2018), Hans Joachim Schellnhuber (fundador e diretor emérito do Instituto Potsdam de Pesquisas sobre o Impacto Climático e professor emérito na Universidade de Tsinghua, na China), Johan Rockström (diretor do Instituto Potsdam de Pesquisas sobre o Impacto Climático e Professor de Ciências do Sistema Terrestre na Universidade de Potsdam), Miguel Arias Cañete (antigo comissário europeu da Energia e Ação Climática), Rik Leemans (diretor do Grupo de Análise de Sistemas Ambientais, Universidade de Wageningen e Wageningen e editor-chefe da revista internacional Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability), Runa Khan (fundadora e diretora executiva da ONG Friendship e presidente da Global Dignity Bangladesh) e Sandra Díaz (bióloga, professora de Ecologia na Universidade Nacional de Córdoba e membro da Royal Society) e Sunita Narain (diretora do Centro de Ciência e Ambiente em Deli e editora da revista Down To Earth).

• Solid Waste Management and Circular Economy

Green Revolution 2.0: Single-Use Plastic Ban ‘Make or Break’ Moment for Green Future, Implementation Key​

According to environmentalists, the list of banned items could have been more comprehensive, but admit that it is a critical step against plastic pollution As the country prepares to take its first major step to phase out single-use plastic items starting Friday, environmentalists highlight that it is a ‘make-or-break’ moment for India’s green future. The ban will set in motion a long-awaited plan to replace as many as 19 items of ‘low utility’ which are difficult to collect and more challenging to recycle with sustainable alternatives. “Even as we believe that this ban is too limited, we have to admit that it is a critical step towards controlling the menace,” said Sunita Narain, director general of Delhi-based Centre for Science and Environment (CSE). “We do not need to be warned about the problem. We live it every day. Our cities are littered with non-biodegradable plastic material, and it is greatly adding to environmental stress and degradation.” The Plastic Waste Management (Amendment) Rules, 2021, notified by the government in August last year ban manufacture, import, stocking, distribution, sale and use of identified at least 19 single-use plastic items ranging from straws, cutlery to plastic sticks on candies, balloons and ear buds. The list also includes PVC banner with thickness of less than 100 microns often used by businesses for outdoor/indoor signage and advertising, and polystyrene (thermocol) for the purpose of decoration. Though a complete ban on polyethylene bags (poly bags) has already been ruled out — the government has prohibited the use of plastic bags thinner than 75 microns. Starting December 31, the ban will extend to plastic bags with thickness of less than 120 microns. The idea behind is to ensure that thicker bags are easier to collect, and recycle, while the thinner bags most likely tear off and eventually disintegrate into microplastics — a serious health hazard. The ban also covers packaging/wrapping plastic film over cigarette packets, sweet boxes, and invitation cards, but excludes ‘multi-layered packaging (MLP)’ used in almost all fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG), from chips to shampoos to gutka pouches — which is being cited as one of the lacunae. More so, because a lot of this packaging plastic escapes the recycling process, and has to be sent to cement plants for incineration, say experts. According to the government, plastic packaging will be part of the extended producer responsibility (EPR), the guidelines for which were notified in February early this year. Under EPR, the manufacturers/producers will be mandated to ensure environmentally sound management of the product until the end of its life, and eventually bolster the circular economy of plastic packaging waste. There are concerns around the success of this model, and environmentalists argue that there is no information on the quantity of this plastic material which is recycled/reprocessed or the waste the company generates. “Under EPR, companies are required to recycle or reprocess the material they collect only by 2024. Not only is it based on self-declaration, but there is nothing available in the public domain to assess its accuracy,” said Narain. Reflecting on the ban, the noted environmentalist, however, also added that “it is time that people eventually become responsible for their own waste and not use the banned items today, and ask for more to be banned tomorrow—because we must and can live without them.” All Set For The Ban On Wednesday, the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC) held a meeting with Municipal Commissioners of 42 million plus cities (MPCs)/urban agglomerations (UAs), urging them to lead their teams to enforce the ban within their jurisdiction. “The success of the ban will only be possible through effective engagement and concerted actions by all stakeholders and enthusiastic public participation,” the ministry reiterated. Meanwhile, the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), which recently launched a Grievance Redressal App to allow people to report violations, has said it is all set to achieve the ambitious goal. The app has geotagging features with facility to track complaints. Directions have already been issued to e-commerce companies leading single use plastic sellers/users and plastic raw material manufacturers to adhere to the ban. The CPCB has also issued one-time certificates to around 200 manufacturers of compostable plastic, which do not require renewal to promote the use of alternatives. Local authorities have been directed to issue fresh commercial licenses with the condition that SUP items shall not be sold on their premises and the existing commercial licenses shall be cancelled, if entities are found to be selling banned SUP items. The government also plans to set up national and state level control rooms and form special enforcement teams for checking illegal manufacture, import, stocking, distribution, sale and use of banned single use plastic items. States and Union Territories have been asked to set up border check points to stop inter-state movement of any banned single use plastic items.

• Solid Waste Management and Circular Economy

Delhi’s street vendors baulk at India’s single-use plastic ban

Ban on 19 items comes in on Friday, but researchers warn that millions are not prepared to use alternatives to ubiquitous plastic On Friday India’s nationwide ban on single-use plastic comes into effect, but a glance at the street vendors who line one road in the Indian capital selling coconut water, flowers, samosas, mangoes and ice-cream – each in their own plastic bag – reveals that few are ready. Faimudin Ahmed, who sells mangoes piled high on a cart, says plastic bags cost him 40 rupees for 250 grams. The cost of paper bags is double that. “Even if I could afford the extra cost of paper bags, they won’t take the weight of two kilos of mangoes. They will break. The only way the ban will work is if customers bring their own cloth bags,” said Ahmed. Two Ugandan women carry a bundle of waste plastic along a red dirt road. From bricks to bags to eco art: six innovative uses for plastic waste around the world Read more Advertisement His neighbour, Akash Ram, says paper straws for his coconut water cost five times as much and doubts if customers will accept such a big price hike. “I can’t afford to lose business. As it is, all I manage to do is feed my family and nothing else,” said Ram. Some customers said it was too drastic and more time should be given to people to get used to the idea. Others were more accepting. ‘It’s not just me who is going to be paying more for the street food I buy. It’s everyone. So it’s OK,” said one auto rickshaw driver. A public that is not yet ready to shop with their own bags, vendors and shopkeepers who have not been provided with alternatives, and the prospect of daily transactions becoming complicated are just some of the problems India faces with the plastic ban. Nineteen items are covered by the ban, including plastic cups, cutlery, ice-cream sticks, earbuds, straws and wrapping. Thousands of other items will remain ubiquitous but for many environmentalists, it is a start. India’s data on its plastic generation is opaque. In 2015, government statistics said the country generated 9.5m tonnes of plastic waste annually, but nonprofit research organisation the Centre for Science and Environment believes the figure was a gross underestimate. The government also claims that 60% of plastic waste is recycled, but a survey by the centre in 2019 found the figure was 12%. Anyone found using single-use plastic will run the risk of a five-year jail sentence or a fine of 100,000 rupees (£1,034) or both. Street vendors interviewed by the Guardian, however, just laughed at the idea. “Since it takes me about eight months to earn that much, they will be wasting their time fining me,” said Ram. Siddharth Ghanshyam Singh, programme manager at the Centre for Science and Environment, appreciates the difficulties for street vendors, the poor and the companies manufacturing plastic bags that now either face losses or closure unless they can manufacture alternatives. “Such a massive transition is not going to be possible for small manufacturers and small vendors without support from the government and the plastics industry, nor without educating the public to change their behaviour,” said Singh. Some of the behaviour changes include taking cloth bags to shop for groceries and food containers for carrying food. One criticism of the ban is that alternatives are not available. Guidelines issued by the Central Pollution Control Board mention cotton and jute bags, bamboo straws, cups, cutlery, clay cups and biodegradable glass. But there are fears there is not enough supply. The Delhi government is holding a trade fair on 1 July where people making alternative packaging will showcase their goods, but it’s not clear how production can be ramped up to feed the needs of the country of 1.3 billion. Antarctica Microplastics found in freshly fallen Antarctic snow for first time Read more Small signs of progress Here and there, people are ready. A well-known sweetshop in New Delhi is switching to paper from cellophane for wrapping boxes of confectionary. Virendra Sharma, a flower seller, points to the pile of paper sheets near his sunflowers. “I am keeping paper as well as cellophane for wrapping flowers, but the problem is that customers insist on cellophane saying it looks smarter,” said Sharma. Packaging company UFlex is going to start manufacturing 6bn paper straws annually to cater to the demand of the fast-moving consumer goods industry, which uses them for its packs of juice, milk and coffee. Singh believes the plastics industry has been far too slow to prepare for the transition because it didn’t take the prospect of a ban seriously. Initially, the Narendra Modi government planned for a ban in 2020, but it was postponed to give the industry more time to prepare. Even now, many companies that use plastic straws are urging the government to extend the deadline again by three months. “By now the industry should have … prepared itself and been ready to support small entrepreneurs in switching to alternatives. Everyone has to start in real earnest now,” said Singh.

• Solid Waste Management and Circular Economy

Ban on single-use plastic by July 1, is India Inc ready?

The government has banned the manufacture, sale and use of identified single-use plastic items like plates, cups, straws, trays, and polystyrene from July 1, 2022. Is the industry ready to comply with the ban? The government is all set to implement the ban on single-use plastic from July 1. Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke about India’s move in this direction from the ramparts of the Lal Quila on January 26, 2019. Thereafter, in a notification that was issued on August 12, 2021, the government prohibits the manufacture, import, stocking, distribution, sale, and use of all identified single-use plastic items, which have low utility and high littering potential with effect from July 1, 2022. Currently, PET bottles that are used to package water do not fall under this category. The ministry is looking at a three-pronged strategy for banning single-use plastic in India: 1. High littering potential - This means products that are quickly thrown away post usage. Most of these are disposable items that are found in drains and are seen as products that contribute to littering. 2. Low utility - These are plastic products that have the least amount of usage or utility after being used. For instance, wrapping plastic sheets is hardly utilised after the packaging is opened. 3. Availability of alternative - If other alternatives can be used in their place. For instance, paper bags, paper wrappings (which can be made from recycled material), bamboo spoons instead of plastic spoons, etc. India generates 3.5 million tonnes of plastic waste a year. The government data reveals that India’s per capita plastic waste generation is 3 kg per year. Plastic waste generation during the year 2020-21 is approximately 41,26,997 tonnes per annum as per information provided by all State Pollution Control Boards. Sunita Narain, director general, Centre for Science and Environment, says the way ahead is to ensure that plastic items are recycled or disposed of safely. “For this, we need a three-pronged strategy,” she adds. “Firstly, all the plastic produced and used should be collected for disposal. Secondly, the waste plastic must be recycled or incinerated; it should not reach landfills or choke our waterbodies. Thirdly, the reuse or disposal has to be in a manner that is environmentally friendly and does not end up creating more pollution or health hazards. But most importantly, those plastic items that are difficult to collect or recycle should be eliminated from use. This is where the current ban, however limited, fits in.” IS THE INDUSTRY READY TO COMPLY WITH SINGLE-USE PLASTIC BAN? While the government agencies seem ready to bring in enforcement, is the industry ready to change? The Confederation of All India Traders ( CAIT) has sent a communique to Union environment Minister Bhupendra Yadav to extend the last date of imposition of the ban on single-use plastic to one year from July 1, 2022, but has also urged to constitute a joint committee of senior government officials and representatives of stakeholder with a time-bound mandate of suggesting equitable alternatives to single-use plastic so that without any disruption, the country stop using single-use plastic. The letter is the outcome of deliberations held on this critical issue by more than 100 trade leaders from all states of the country at a two-day national conference of CAIT being held at Nagpur in Maharashtra. CAIT National President B C Bhartia & Secretary General Praveen Khandelwal said that “undoubtedly the pollution of the environment is a big threat to human civilisation and corrective steps are much needed to protect the environment. However, before any imposition of the ban, it is all the more necessary to keep equivalent alternatives ready to shift the usage.” MULTI-LAYER PACKAGING IN FMCG GOODS, A CHALLENGE Environmental researchers state that the current list of banned items does not include multi-layered packaging (MLP). CSE researchers point out that MLP is used in almost all fast-moving consumer goods, from chips to shampoos to gutka pouches. advertisement The government says that all packaging material has been included as part of the extended producer responsibility (EPR) notification. Under this, the companies that manufacture or consume this material are required to take it back and send it for reprocessing. Annual targets have been fixed for companies on how much is to be recollected. The environment ministry has also set aside a target for the manufacturing industry on recycling. “By 2026-2027, manufacturers will have to recycle 100 per cent of all their plastic packaging," said environment ministry officials. But currently, the target falls behind. By 2022-23, companies are expected to recycle 70 per cent of their plastic. Narain points out that while this “sounds good on paper, there are huge problems in the way EPR has been designed or is being implemented. For instance, there is no information on the quantity of this plastic material or the waste the company generates. Not only is it based on self-declaration, but there is nothing available in the public domain to assess its accuracy. This means the target that has been set for each company is meaningless”. Worse, says Narain, under EPR, “companies are required to recycle or reprocess the material they collect only by 2024. The question, then, is what is happening to the plastic waste that is being collected -- is it being stored or dumped?” advertisement LOSS OF LIVELIHOODS IN INDIA CAIT said that it should not be forgotten that, over a longer period, single-use plastic has emerged as a much bigger industry giving employment to lakhs of people in the country and having an annual turnover of more than Rs 60 thousand crores. Banks and financial institutions have a great stake in the single-use plastic industry and a situation of a complete ban without providing any equitable alternative will cause massive destruction in the working vertical of retail trade in India. “Since traders are the first connection point for the consumers and the public, they will have to face the consequences, though the traders selling the products are acting merely as a component of the supply chain, making things available to the public. However, 98 per cent of single-use plastic is used by MNCs, Corporate Manufacturers, producers, e-commerce companies, warehousing hubs, industry and other types of production units either in their production line or packaging of finished goods,” said the CAIT communique to the environment minister. “The traders are under compulsion to sell goods in whatever pack they receive from the manufacturer or source of origin. Unless and until these companies and manufacturing units are not compelled to stop the use of single-use plastic either in the production line or in the packing of finished goods, there will always be an occasion for the usage of single-use plastic at the consumer end,” it said. WHICH NATIONS HAVE BANNED SINGLE-USE PLASTIC? As of July 2019, 68 countries have plastic bag bans with various labels of enforcement. Recently, Canada announced to ban single-use plastic in their nation from December 2022. The sale will be banned with effect from December 2023 and the country has also said it will stop exporting such plastic by 2025. Bangladesh has banned thin plastic since 2002, while New Zealand banned plastic bags in July 2019. China issued a ban on plastic bags in 2020 with a phased implementation. The European Union issued a directive to ban single-use plastics on July 2, 2021. Eight states in the United States have banned single-use plastic bags, beginning with California in 2014. Seattle became the first major US city to ban plastic straws in 2018, although environmentalists say these are just piecemeal efforts because the United States ranks as the world’s leading contributor of plastic waste, according to a congressionally mandated report released last year. COMPLIANCE IN INDIA While speaking to the media, Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav said that control rooms would be set up to monitor and ensure the enforcement of the ban at the national and state levels. “To curb the supply of identified items, directions have been issued at the national, state, and local levels. For example, all leading petrochemical industries do not supply plastic raw materials to the industries engaged in banned SUP production,’ informed the minister. Those found violating the ban can be penalised under the Environment Protection Act 1986 which allows for imprisonment up to five years, a penalty up to Rs 1 lakh, or both.