Impractical comprehensive plastics ban

– Rahul Singh is a former editor of the Readers Digest and Indian Express In the classic 1967 Mike Nichols movie, The Graduate, a fresh-out-of-college Dustin Hoffman asks his fathers business partner what advice he can give the young Hoffman on which career to pursue. I just want to say one word to you, is the businessman’s sage reply, Plastics. This scene came back to me while reading about the recent ban that the Maharashtra government has imposed on the use of plastics in our day-to-day lives. Other states have also tried to ban the use of plastic packaging with mixed results, but Maharashtra is serious about it. Hundreds of citizens have been fined for carrying plastic bags, traders and shopkeepers for storing or transporting goods in plastic containers, with the plastics industry warned that their manufacturing licences will be cancelled unless they produce acceptable bio-degradable plastic. Almost 400 plastic and thermocol manufacturing units have already shut down and the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) has issued closure notices to another 265 factories producing various types of plastic goods. This is despite awareness that this industry provides 4 million jobs countrywide and plastic exports accounted for 3 percent of India’s exports in 2015-16 (value: $7.64 billion or Rs.52,490 crore). Several decades ago, plastic was indeed the miracle material of the time and the advice given to Hoffman in the film was undoubtedly good. Plastics, mostly derived from petrochemicals, have become virtually indispensable over the years. Its uses are multiple: as packaging for all types of goods especially food, water and soft drinks, and being so much lighter than glass and virtually unbreakable, for shopping bags and transportation. However, in recent years, plastic has become anathema to environmentalists and consumer activists because its mostly non-bio-degradable waste and is also reportedly poisonous, even carcinogenic. In particular, it has become a nightmare for local and municipal governments as it cannot be disposed of easily. Burning waste plastic releases toxic fumes that pollute the air. Animals and marine life ingest it, often with fatal results. Stray cows, which abound in our towns and cities, have been found dead after consuming huge amounts of thrown-away plastic bags. 90 percent of sea birds worldwide ingest plastic debris. From the 1950s to this year, an astounding 6.3 billion tonnes of plastic has been produced worldwide. Worse, some types of plastic can last 400 years. Research has also revealed that plastic bottles leech into the liquids stored in them. And since plastic is carcinogenic, drinking such liquids poses the threat of cancer. Clearly, there is a strong case for phasing out plastics from our lives or changing their composition to make it safer for people and the environment. But the Maharashtra governments stringent ban is reckless and irresponsible. For one, all plastic containers and packaging are not anti-social. Plastic packaging of a certain thickness, or only used once, is biodegradable. But how is thickness to be checked and how can it be ensured that ‘once-used bottles and containers…