Status of Plastic Ban in Maharashtra

As I wait for the signal to turn from red to green, a woman walks up to me and says, “Please buy garbage bags, throwing away trash will be easy for you, since the government has banned plastic bags”.

On June 23, the Maharashtra government banned 23 plastic items, citing harm done to the environment and animals across the whole state. The government has enforced a total ban, effective immediately. Anyone who violates the law will be fined between 5,000 and 10,000 for the first offence, 10,000 to 25,000 for the second offence, and 25,000 for the third offence, as well as face up to 3 months of imprisonment.

Plastic bags are bad.

Period. Everyone knows how damaging it is to the environment, and is aware of the environmental damage it causes when it decomposes. Animals die a horrible death after eating them; marine life is suffering terribly due to plastic being dumped in the oceans.

The Swachh Bharat Abhiyan (Clean India Movement) aims to achieve its vision of a ‘Clean India’ by October 2, 2019. The streets are littered with plastic bags, and the wild animals continue to feast upon them because most of the garbage consists of food that is thrown away, resulting in the death of the animals as well as creating pollution when it is burned.

Maharashtra is the second most populous state in India, and the government has enough areas to ban plastic; the state generates 1,200 tonnes of plastic waste every day. Plastic packaging contributes to almost half of all accounts, for none of it is disposed of immediately after being discarded. Plastic waste is collected, processed, or recycled, while the remaining plastic is disposed of in drains, streets, or landfills.

Many vendors, traders, and consumers blame the government for implementing the law without proper alternatives. Implementation can only succeed if all stakeholders participate in creating a safe environment. One can’t expect the government to do all the work; everyone has to do their part to build a secure environment for future generations.

Until and unless future vendors stop using products in plastic packaging, consumers will not consider adopting other measures. Presently, we live in such a world where there is no room for error. The implementers were proper, but it was well thought out. Correct, we need cheaper alternatives; otherwise, they will continue to use cheap, single-use plastic.

Why? Being inexpensive, it’s easier.

After six months of the plastic ban in Maharashtra, go to any bustling vegetable market and ask for bundles of garlic and ginger. It will come in colourful, see-through plastic. A colourful, out-of-hatred and fear of the law, whips out plastic bags and the consumers? They happily purchase it. We don’t think twice about it!

Why?

Plastic is inexpensive and readily available, but at what cost? Readily so willing to destroy our environment for future generations, that we can’t make an extra effort? However, this is where one’s conscience comes into play; conscience carries their bags when they go out to purchase.

Many of us have gone to make he hills and stood at the echo points. We experience that whenever we throw our sound across the hills, it reverberates and bounces back to us. The same is true of our environment; the more we pollute and abuse it, the more it will retaliate with even greater consequences. Look at what happened during the monsoon of 2018 in Mumbai.

The entire marine drive was filled with 9 tonnes of trash, mostly plastic waste, which was mainly thrown back into the sea, and it proudly said to us, “No, thank you, keep your trash with yourself.” Are we so willing to put our future at risk? We have to stop and think about how one act must pause to consider how our actions will impact not only our rationing, but also, last but not least, the plastic ban will help the government collect tonnes of plastic. But the question arises, what to do with the plastic?

Plastic can be recycled into the production of roads, public benches, clothing, accessories, and fuel, among other uses. The Clothing Minister, Narendran, among other things, advocates for the plan to eliminate the use of single-use plastic in India by 2022, and as responsible citizens, we must also do our part.