Editorial: When supply ends, so will the demand

When the cashier checks with us on the option of a carry bag, a sheepish grin lets us off the hook, as we cram all the goods we can into yet another plastic bag, which will end up in the udders of a stray bovine animal, or choke up storm water drains, and contribute to the growing list of health hazards in Chennai. 

This crime involving indiscriminate laziness needs redressal (please don’t blame amnesia, if you cared enough, the cloth bag would be a permanent fixture in your car). Thankfully, the Chennai Corporation last week kick-started a drive to confiscate single use plastic (SUP) products from shops, and penalise vendors who use plastic covers and wrappers. Even the neighbourhood bakers who had made it a habit to dispense plastic spoons and plates were caught off guard as the enforcement authorities came down heavy on such violators. 

It was back in 2019, when the use of single use plastic products was banned in Chennai and shopkeepers were encouraged to use paper bags. This time around, a team of officers headed by Dr Manish Narnaware, the Deputy Health Commissioner not only imposed fines, but also shut down a plastic cover making firm that spurred citizens to save forests and use plastics. The crackdown on violators is being carried out on a war footing as the Corporation is not content just baiting the small fry; the big fish is what it has set its sights on. Last week, a popular budget air carrier also found itself in the Corporation’s cross-hairs as it was pulled up on account of using single use plastic covers to package face shields, masks and sanitisers handed out to passengers before a flight. 

Having been fined a sum of Rs 25,000, the airline was informed by the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board that the plastic envelope had a thickness of 27 microns which falls under the banned category. Two years ago, the Centre had mandated that plastic bags and single use items should be at least 50 microns thick, and it went on to ban plastic items with a thickness under 50 microns. And it’s about time the government cracked the whip on our lethargy. The Central Pollution Control Board estimates that India generates about 26,000 tonnes of plastic waste per day, which averages to approximately 9.46 mn tonnes of plastic per year. As much as 60 per cent of this waste gets collected and recycled whereas 40 per cent remains uncollected. 

The Environment Ministry has introduced fresh guidelines governed by the Plastic Waste Management Amendment Rules 2021. The directives are in line with the PM’s vision of ridding India of SUPs by 2022. The Minister of State for Environment Ashwini Kumar Choubey has said in the Lok Sabha that a national level task force has been set up by the Ministry, along with 14 state level/UT level task forces, that will be responsible for the elimination of SUPs. Come to think of it, the use of SUPs in our day to day life is all pervasive - everything from ear-buds to decoration thermocol, invitation cards, sweet boxes, cigarette packs and plastic cutlery used by your favourite restaurants and food aggregators use SUPs. 

By the end of next month i.e. September 30, permitted plastic bags will need to be 75 microns thick, while 2023 onward, these plastic bags will need to be 120 microns thick. It must be understood that these measures are not being taken with the intent of kicking traders and kirana shopkeepers in the belly. The overarching aim of this movement is to aid in the creation of a culture that is not so thoroughly and obsessively dependent on SUPs, which also has a massive environmental benefit in terms of reduction in plastic waste accumulation. Like many other social pain points, once the supply is cut off, the demand is bound to taper off.