Single-Use Plastic Items to be banned in India on the 2nd of October 2019

India is planning on a nation-wide ban on plastic bags, plastic plates, plastic cups
and straws on the 2 nd of October. The officials declared that the very first measure
that is to be taken is to ban plastics from cities and villages which are ranked
among the most polluted in this country.
The focus of Prime Minister, Narendra Modi is to put a ban on as many as six
plastic items on the 2 nd of October, the birth anniversary of our national leader,
Mahatma Gandhi.
Narendra Modi urged the people and the government agencies on an
Independence Day speech to “take the first big step” on the 2 nd of October
towards freeing this country from single-use plastic.
The items that are to be banned include plastic bags, straws, plates, cups, small
bottles and certain kinds of sachets as per the officials.
One official said that "The ban will be comprehensive and will cover
manufacturing, usage and import of such items,"
Plastic pollution is becoming a worldwide concern, with a serious focus on
the oceans where more than 50% single-use plastic items end up,
affecting the marine ecosystem and also entering the human food chain
as per studies and research.
Single-use plastic items like straws, forks, knives and cotton buds are to
be banned by The European Union by the year 2021.
In India, plastics are found to be littering on the streets and also on the
water bodies in almost every town and city. What India needs is a proper
and well organized plastic management system.
Some states in India have already banned the use of polythene bags.

The first official said that “The ban on the first six items of single-use
plastics will clip 5% to 10% from India's annual consumption of about 14
million tonnes of plastic.”
Another official said “Penalties for violations of the ban will probably take
effect after an initial six-month period to allow people time to adopt
alternatives”
As per another official “The federal government also plans tougher
environmental standards for plastic products and will insist on the use of
recyclable plastic only”
As per other officials “It will also ask e-commerce companies to cut back
on plastic packaging that makes up nearly 40% of India's annual plastic
consumption”.