Single-use plastic ban: Is the rule proving to be only on paper?
The indian government may have banned single-use plastic, but in reality this rule is not being fully implemented. Plastic bags, cutlery, straws and packaging are still being used openly across the country. Repeated recycling of plastic reduces the damage to the environment. The material used to make plastic bottles can also be used to make clothes and vehicle parts. But, sadly, about 90% of plastic is not recycled at all. This plastic either remains in the garbage heap or harms the environment.
Plastic never actually ends, it just keeps breaking into smaller pieces. In the heat of the sun, plastic slowly breaks down into very small pieces which are called 'microplastics'. These pieces are so small that they are not easily visible, but they are present everywhere.
In the Lok Sabha, congress MP kuldeep Indora has asked the minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change whether the government has implemented a ban on single-use plastic. Is it true that despite this ban, such single-use plastic items continue to be widely used across the country? If yes, then what steps did the government take to implement the ban. Environment, Forest and Climate Change minister Bhupendra Yadav has given a written answer to this.
What is single-use plastic and its history?
Single-use plastic is a plastic that is thrown away after being used only once. This plastic is very harmful to the environment because it does not decompose for hundreds of years. Every year 300 million tonnes of plastic is produced worldwide and half of it is single-use. Only 10% to 13% of plastic is recycled in the whole world.
Plastic is actually made by mixing many chemicals. It was made in the 19th century itself, but its real use started in the 1970s. Earlier milk used to come in glass or paper containers, but then plastic containers started coming because they were light, cheap and strong. Half of the plastic that has been made since 1950 has been made in the last 15 years.
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