Tamil Nadu state government has recently issued an order stating that people of the state should prevent using a number of plastic items such as plastic bags that ‘constitute a or form an integral part of packaging in which goods are sealed prior to use at manufacturing and processing units’.
However, the ban excludes using ‘disposable plastic for essential commodities like packaging milk, curd, oil and medical utilities.’
This is not the first time when Tamil Nadu will impose the ban. Previously, the Chennai Corporation in 2015 had enforced a strict ban on ‘plastic bags and other polymer based items with a thickness of less than 40 microns’.
The order was issued by environment and forest secretary Md Nasimuddin. The order states that “no industry or person shall manufacture, store, supply, transport, sell or distribute throwaway plastics. No person including shopkeepers, vendor, wholesaler, retailer, trader, hawker or salesman shall use plastic. The exemptions include carrying bags manufactured exclusively for export purpose against any export order in a plastic industry located in special economic zones and export-oriented units.”
“It started with the ‘My Shopping, My Bag’ campaign more than a year ago, where the civic body in association with NGO’s approached commercial establishments to switch over to paper or cloth bags. The campaign also encouraged people to carry their own bags while shopping,” said Commissioner K. Vijayakarthikeyan.
“The government has just made the announcement. But where is the mechanism to implement this? How will they monitor? This is wishful thinking on their part,” said Dharmesh Shah an environmentalist who is skeptical about the implementation of such a plan. Swetha Narayan who works in the environment sector mirrors Dharmesh’s view. The activist said that the state government’s ban is only as effective as it’s implemented. Even though the effective strategy to implement such a step, the Tamil Nadu government is expected to effectively come up with and formulate appropriate measures.