India bans single-use plastic

Efforts to curb single use plastic pollution in India came into force on 1st July. The ban was a response to the country's four million tonne annual plastic waste mountain, one third of which is unsuitable for recycling.

This plastic waste routinely clogs rivers and pollutes the food chain when dumped in watercourses - and at waste management facilities, fires frequently break out, releasing toxic fumes.

Dr Suneel Panday's a director at the Energy and Resources Institute.

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."

While some redundancies are expected at plastic manufacturers, the new legal situation is a boon for firms producing plastic alternatives. One such company, Ecoware, which turns corn waste into disposable food packaging, was founded by Rhea Mazumdar Singhal, who's the driving force behind it.

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 roaming India's cities eating discarded plastic's become a fact of modern life, as has the discovery of plastic in the faeces of wild elephants. This initial move banning, among others, plastic straw, cup and ear bud production, sale and importation, is expected to herald more extensive measures.

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."

The ban's opponents often cite resistance among consumers, who they consider will reject eco alternatives due to their additional costs. Nevertheless, lawbreakers face stiff penalties, risking fines of around $1,300 or 5 year custodial sentences for disregarding the new ban.

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