Single-use plastic items like candy sticks, plates, cups to be prohibited from Jul 1, 2022: Govt
New Delhi, Aug 13: The Centre has notified the Plastic Waste Management Amendment Rules, 2021, prohibiting manufacture, import, stocking, distribution, sale and use of identified single-use plastic (SUP) items, including candy sticks, plates, cups and cutlery, from July 1, 2022.
The thickness of plastic carry bags will be increased from 50 microns to 75 microns from September 30, 2021, and to 120 microns from December 31, 2022, according to the notification dated August 12. This will also allow the plastic carry bags to be reused, it stated.
Non-woven plastic carry bags should not be less than 60 gram per square metre (GSM) with effect from September 30, 2021, the notification said.
"The manufacture, import, stocking, distribution, sale and use of following single-use plastic, including polystyrene and expanded polystyrene, commodities shall be prohibited with effect from July 1, 2022: ear buds with plastic sticks, plastic sticks for balloons, plastic flags, candy sticks, ice-cream sticks, polystyrene (thermocol) for decoration; plates, cups, glasses, cutlery such as forks, spoons, knives, straw, trays; wrapping or packing films around sweet boxes, invitation cards, and cigarette packets, plastic or PVC banners less than 100 micron, stirrers," it read.
The provisions will not apply to commodities made of compostable plastic, the notification said.
In June 2018, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced that India will eliminate all single-use plastics in the country by 2022.
In the fourth United Nations Environment Assembly held in 2019, India had piloted a resolution on addressing single-use plastic products pollution, recognising the urgent need for the global community to focus on this issue.
In a statement, the Environment Ministry said plastic packaging waste not covered under the phase-out of identified single-use plastic items should be collected and managed in an environmentally sustainable way through the Extended Producer Responsibility of the producer, importer and brand owner (PIBO) as per Plastic Waste Management Rules, 2016.
For effective implementation of the Extended Producer Responsibility, the guidelines being brought out have been given a legal force through the amended rules, it said.
Extended Producer Responsibility is a policy approach in which producers take responsibility for management of the disposal of products they produce once those products are designated as no longer useful by consumers.
The Centre had earlier asked states and union territories to constitute a special task force under the chief secretary or the administrator for elimination of SUP and effective implementation of the Plastic Waste Management Rules, 2016.
Fourteen states and UTs had constituted the special task force by July 23, according to a reply given by Minister of State for Environment Ashwini Choubey in Parliament.
The Environment Ministry has also set up a national-level task force for making coordinated efforts in this direction.
The state and the UT governments and the central ministries and departments concerned have also been asked to develop a comprehensive action plan for elimination of SUP and effective implementation of the rules in a time-bound manner.
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300 students get free sanitary pads at menstrual health awareness programme in Mangaluru
Mangaluru: Around 300 students from government colleges and schools in Kavoor were given free sanitary pads during an awareness programme on menstrual health and hygiene held on Saturday.
The programme was organised by the Women Research Centre and the Internal Quality Assurance Cell (IQAC) at the Government First Grade College (GFGC), Kavoor. The students hailed from Government First Grade college (GFGC), PU government college and high school, Deccan Herald reported.
Prameela Rao of Women Research Centre reportedly said, such awareness programme on menstrual health and free distribution of pads will be organised once in two months throughout the year. The entire cost of organising the awareness programmes and free distribution of pads had been sponsored by US based couple, Vinay Kumar and Dr Sowmya Rao, and a non-government organisation ‘Code Crimson'."
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Joint Director of the Department of Collegiate Education, Kavitha K R, who inaugurated the programme reportedly said, such initiatives should inspire students to give back to society in the future. As per the report, she highlighted the need for more women role models and encouraged students to break taboos surrounding menstruation.
According to the report, GFGC Principal Dr Geetha M L urged students to use biodegradable sanitary pads. Doctors Ankita Sarkar and Anuja Sarkar from Code Crimson addressed students on menstrual myths, hygiene practices, the importance of regular pad changes and safe disposal methods.
The speakers stressed that menstruation is a natural process and encouraged students to seek correct information without hesitation.
