While a number of cities, states and countries around the world consider mechanisms by which to manage some of the growing challenges relating to the plastics, India’s capital city Delhi has made the headlines by placing a blanket ban on all disposable plastics. Far from being altruistic, the city’s decision has been made out of practical necessity.
Okhla, Gazipur and Bhalswa, Delhi’s three main landfill sites are “a depiction of mess that can be created for environment and health of people of Delhi”, according to India’s National Green Tribunal (NGT) chairperson Swatanter Kumar’s statement at the tribunal“. Waste-to-energy plants produce electricity, but the burning of plastic waste pollutes the air, when it isn’t burned, plastics inevitably leaks into and clogs up the city’s waterways, in particular, the Yamuna, which is the second largest tributary river of the Ganges.
Plastic bags were banned from hotels, hospitals, shopping malls, major markets and greengrocers by the city in 2009, but despite initial success, the fact that new legislation has been introduced would suggest that it didn’t achieve its objectives fully.
Disposable plastics are a subject of policy protections in other contexts as well. France ordained that all disposable cutlery must be compostable by 2020, meanwhile, single bag use is reportedly down 80% since a small charge was added in the UK.
Identifying the most effective enabling policies isn’t an easy task, and varies widely in each context. The imperative to take some kind of action in Delhi is clear, and placing a charge on the customer is more difficult in an economy where there may be options to switch to vendors that flout a ban and offer free bags. It’s also a challenging context for shopkeepers, who have to pay up to three times more for a cloth versus plastic bag.
Source: Delhi just banned all disposable plastics
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