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Plastic becomes illegal - 6th July 2022

The Indian government's banned many plastic items. It wants to stop them damaging rivers and animals.

Four million tonnes of plastic rubbish is produced each year in India. A third of this isn't recycled. It enters rivers or is taken to rubbish dumps. These often catch fire, which increases air pollution.

The plastic isn't useful, says Dr Suneel Pandey.

Dr Suneel Pandey: "The problem is this 30 percent which is not collected, which is no value plastic, and in other terms can be called as single-use plastics."

Some jobs will go at plastic production factories. But others which make plastic-free alternatives will get bigger.

Ecoware produces non-plastic food packaging. Its owner, Rhea Mazumdar Singhal, wants safe products which help the planet.

Rhea Mazumdar Singhal: "I just thought, things needed to change for humanity and the environment – and that's really how Ecoware was born.

"We wanted to create a product that was safe for humanity to eat their food out of. By that I mean that it doesn't change the nutritional value of the food that you put in it. Secondly, it had to be safe for the environment. So it wasn't going to sit in a landfill and it's not going to outlive you forever."

Cows are often seen eating plastic in India's cities. It's even been found in wild elephants' poo.

The new ban stops production and sale of single use items from takeaway cups to ear buds. Singhal hopes it'll make the problem easier to see.

Rhea Mazumdar Singhal: "Think about from the time you have woken up today, how much plastic you have touched or came in contact with. So, it has become an integral part of our lives. It is absolutely everywhere. But we have to be cognizant about climate change. We have to be cognizant about our reliance on fossil fuels, the fact that these are things that we need to move away from."

Others are against the ban. They don't believe people will pay for more expensive alternatives. But people can receive fines of $1,300 for breaking this law. They may also spend up to 5 years in prison.