3 plastic products out of banned list in Chandigarh

Dushyant Singh Pundir

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Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, July 2

Providing relief to some manufacturers, the UT Administration has moved three plastic products out of the list of banned items.

In a partial modification of the notification issued in January this year, UT Administrator VP Singh Badnore has kept three items – plastic refill pouch having quantity less than 500 ml, straws attached with tetra packs and multilayered packaging used for food or snacks packing – under the extended producer responsibility (EPR), instead of the ban list.

What’s EPR

The extended producer responsibility (EPR) makes it mandatory for companies to collect and recycle their plastic. Small manufacturers pay the local bodies to recycle plastic they produce. Medium and large manufacturers can hire producer responsibility organisations to recycle their plastic.

The UT Administration had imposed a ban on several single-use plastic products in the city. However, the Administration had excluded these three products from the list of the banned items and gave some time to the manufacturers to find an alternative to these products. Ultimately, the ban on these three products was to be imposed from March 28, 2020, onwards.

A senior officer in the Department of Environment, UT, stated that due to the nationwide lockdown, manufacturers could not find alternative to these products. On the request of the manufacturers, the Administration shifted these products to the EPR list. The disposal of these products would be the responsibility of the manufacturer.

The products banned in the city include single-use plastic cutlery, thermocol or Styrofoam cutlery, single-use plastic containers, plastic (sold in the name of silver/aluminium) bag/pouch for packing food items, drinking water sealed glasses and plastic mineral water pouch, single-time use razors, single-time use pens, use of thermocol for decoration purpose and use of plastic material for decoration purpose such as wrapping sheets, frills, garland, confetti, party bloopers and plastic ribbons.

The NGT had directed that any person who is found to be using, storing, purchasing, dealing with or distributing plastic bags, plastic plates or plastic glasses and such allied items will be liable to pay environmental compensation at the rate of Rs 5,000 per event.