A recent survey, titled ‘Single Use Plastic Ban in India’ and conducted by the non-governmental organization Toxics Link, has shed light on the implementation of the single-use plastic (SUP) ban in five major Indian cities, including Delhi. The findings reveal that more than a year after the ban’s introduction, Delhi appears to be the worst-performing city in terms of compliance.
In Delhi, a staggering 88% of stores and markets were found to be still using SUP items, despite the ban. This alarming statistic places the national capital at the bottom of the list among the surveyed cities. On the contrary, Bengaluru has emerged as the leader in adherence to the ban, with only 55% of locations continuing to use banned SUPs. The other cities included in the survey, namely Gwalior (84%), Mumbai (71%), and Guwahati (77%), also demonstrated varying degrees of compliance.
The ban, which came into effect on July 1, 2022, encompassed 19 types of SUPs across all Indian states and Union territories due to their adverse environmental impact. These prohibited items range from earbuds with plastic sticks to plastic flags, candy sticks, ice cream sticks made of plastic, thermocol, plastic cutlery, plastic cigarette packs, plastic stirrers, and PVC banners less than 100 microns in thickness, to name a few. The ban also extends to plastic films around invitation cards and plastic-wrapping or packing films around sweet boxes, as well as plastic bags with a thickness less than 120 microns.
The survey uncovered alarming statistics, revealing that over 50% of surveyed locations in Delhi still used plastic cups and cutlery. Furthermore, all of the vegetable shops, wholesale markets, and snack shops surveyed were found to be utilizing restricted plastic carry bags with a thickness of less than 120 microns. Out of the 19 banned items, 16 were identified in the capital, with only ice creams with plastic sticks, plastic flags, and plastic stirrers not found.
The survey, which took place between February 16 and April 15 of this year, encompassed 415 different survey points, including vegetable shops, markets, grocery stores, malls, tourist spots, roadside eateries, sweet shops, ice cream parlors, and party decoration shops. The findings painted a concerning picture, indicating that the ban’s effectiveness has been limited, as a wide range of locations in Delhi continued to provide and use these banned items, from weekly markets and grocery stores to street food vendors and small restaurants. The only locations where SUPs were not observed were malls and ice-cream parlors.
The prevalence of banned plastic carry bags was observed at 64% of surveyed points in Delhi, while plastic cutlery was found at 45%, plastic cups at 54%, plastic plates at 43%, plastic straws at 45%, plastic earbuds at 90%, balloons with plastic sticks at 92%, and thermocol for decoration at 100% of the points. Alarmingly, over 70% of party decoration shops continued to sell plastic cutlery.
Bengaluru’s better performance in implementing the ban was attributed to factors such as more effective enforcement, a more positive response from the public, and easier access to alternatives compared to other cities.
Priti Banthia Mahesh, Chief Programme Coordinator at Toxics Link, emphasized that SUPs are a significant contributor to the plastic pollution crisis and that the study highlights substantial gaps in the enforcement of the ban, especially within the informal economy. She noted that these banned items were also being openly sold on e-commerce platforms.
Atin Biswas, the program director of the municipal solid waste sector at the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), pointed out that the on-ground enforcement of the ban has been lacking. He also highlighted the need for a blanket ban on carry bags, as judging the thickness of plastic bags in microns without the required machines is a challenging task.
In summary, the survey results suggest that, despite the ban on single-use plastics, Delhi’s compliance has been poor, underscoring the need for more effective enforcement and a broader ban on carry bags to address this environmental challenge.