Eliminating single-use plastics? Easier said than done, say experts

Lack of will to comply and challenges in enforcing the rules and regulations have been an issue

The Plastic Waste Management Act, 2016, was passed by the Parliament in order to curb plastic waste generation in the country and eliminating single-use plastics from the next year. The environment ministry on Thursday notified the ban on the use of single-use plastic items from July 1, 2022. With less than a year left for achieving the target, the country needs a robust strategy to achieve this unrealistic feat being laid out in Plastic Waste Management Amendment Rules, 2021.

However, if environmentalists are to be believed, the target seems Sisyphean.

Rahul Choudhary, lawyer, Legal Initiative for Forest and Environment, said