MINISTER FOR ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE
(SHRI PRAKASH JAVADEKAR)
(a)to (e): A statement is laid on the Table of the House.
Statement referred to in reply to parts (a) to (e) of Lok Sabha Starred Question No. 300 to be answered on Friday, the 13th March, 2020 on “Impact of Plastic Waste on Animals” by Shri UdayPratap Singh
(a) and (b) The volume of plasticproduced in the world has increased significantly and an increasing amount of plastic litter ends up in terrestrial and aquatic eco system.Plastic litter is hazardous to the terrestrial and marine environment because plastics are durable, buoyant, waterproof, indigestible and non-biodegradable. Plastic debris injures and kills fish, seabirds and marine mammals.
The Government has notified Plastic Waste Management Rules, 2016. As per the provisions of Plastic Waste Management Rules, 2016, the generators of waste have been mandated to take steps to minimize generation of plastic waste, not to litter the plastic waste, ensure segregated storage of waste at source and handover segregated waste to local bodies or agencies authorised by the local bodies. The rules have also mandated the responsibilities of local bodies, gram panchayats, waste generators, retailers and street vendors to manage the plastic waste. The rules mandate the producers, importers and brand owners to work out modalities for waste collection system based on Extended Producer Responsibility. CPCB has also issued guidelines for utilization of plastic waste in road construction, cement kilns and usage as liquid RDF (oil).Further, through the CRZ Notification, 2018 several activities are prohibited in the CRZ areas like setting up and expansion of units or mechanism for disposal of wastes and effluents, except for some essential activities.
The Rules mandate every urban local body for setting up of infrastructure for collection, segregation and processing, including recycling and disposal of plastic waste. The local bodies have also been mandated to create awareness among all stakeholders about their respective responsibilities.
(c) to (e) There is no statistics in the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairyingrelating to death of cows due to consumption of plastic waste. However, Government of India is providing grant-in-aid to animal welfare organizations in the country through the Animal Welfare Board of India for construction of shelters for looking after such animals. The grant-in-aid is provided mainly to gaushalas for construction of shelter, dispensary, compound wall, water facilities, drains and other miscellaneous work.
Ministry has taken several measures for the management of plastic waste. Considering the high environmental cost associated with the use of single-use plastic, particularly the adverse effect on soil, water bodies and on marine environment, Hon’ble Prime Minister has announced India’s pledge to phase out Single-use plastic by 2022. Many States/UTs through their own notifications have also imposed partial or complete prohibition on the use of plastic carry bags/single use plastic. 23 States and 9 UTs have issued notifications/orders introducing regulations pertaining to complete ban on plastic carry bags and/or other single-use plastic items.
On the call of Hon’ble Prime Minister, a three-phase campaign “Swachhta Hi Sewa” was launched from 11th September 2019, which ended on Diwali i.e. 27th October, 2019.Under ‘Swachhta hi Seva’, common public of the country came together in masses on 2nd October, 2019 and collected Single Use Plastic from the houses, streets etc and the Urban Local Bodies, Gram Panchayats etcmade arrangements for deposit this plastic at a designated location. The start-ups, technical bodies and corporates came forward with their plans to recycle the collected plastic waste.
The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change is implementing Environment Education, Awareness and Training scheme. Under the National Green Corps (NGC) programme of the Ministry, about one lakh schools have been identified as Eco-clubs, wherein, nearly thirty lakh students are actively participating in various environment protection and conservation activities including plastic waste management.
The Ministry launched the Green Good Deed (GGDs) movement which is social movement with the aim of bringing about mass environmental awareness in the society at all levels.
Further, for spreading awareness among the coastal cities and towns, beach cleaning drive was initiated to clean 50 beaches from 11th Nov to 17th Nov, 2019.
The Ministry had issued “Standard Guidelines for Single-Use Plastic” on 21st January 2019 to all States/UTs and Ministries. The Standard guidelines entailed waste management system improvements, legal options for States/UTs to prohibit SUP items through regulatory measures, eco-friendly alternatives, social awareness and public education. The guidelines also included measures to be taken by government offices.
Advisories/Instructions were also issued to Chief Electoral Officers in the State during General Election 2019 regarding phase out of Single Use Plastic. Instructions were also issued to Ministries, Departments, Offices under the jurisdiction of the Governments, Regional Offices, Schools, Corporates, Major PSUs, Institutions in 2018 & 2019 to prohibit SUP products including water bottles, take away coffee cups, lunch wrapped in disposable plastic packaging, plastic bags, disposable food containers, plates and containers made of polystyrene foam, plastic straws etc. from their offices.
Government has identified Compostable plastic as one of the alternative. To promote the use of compostable plastic, the provision of minimum thickness of fifty microns has been made inapplicable to carry bags made up of compostable plastic, conforming IS/ISO 17088. Some of the State Governments which have banned the use of plastic bags in their respective states are allowing only compostable plastic bags for plant nurseries,horticulture, agriculture and other use. Apart from the traditional material like jute bags, leaf plates, bamboo cutleries, the new material like bagasse based products, banana stem based productsetc are now widely available in market.
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