Environmental Law.pptx

Plastic Bags and the need for stricter laws against them. Submitted By- Skund Singh Semester VI Enrollment- 150101138

Introduction Plastic bags need no introduction and neither do we need to go in details about how menacing they can be. Till now the entire world has got an idea of what problems are caused by this plastic bag, but sadly, we are all still using it. From 1933 to today, the uses and manufacture of polyethylene have grown exponentially. As much as 4 per cent of the world's petroleum may be converted into ethylene - the basic material of any plastic bag, from the bag you get from the grocers to the bag your dry-cleaning comes in. It's been less than 30 years since the introduction of the plastic bag. Experts estimate that our current use of plastic bags is 500 million to 1 trillion per year. Most Indian states have imposed a blanket ban on the use of plastic bags but have they done enough. The ban of sale of gutkha in plastic pouches has still not been implemented. The improper management and lack of disposal technique of the domestic waste pollutes to the environment. It affects the water bodies. It also changes the physical, chemical and biological properties of the water bodies. The apathetic Governmental attitude towards the disposal of waste is a problem that has led to difficulties in implementation of “The Municipal Solid Waste (Management & Handling) Rules, 2000” as it has led to ignorance towards uncollected domestic waste. The waste processing and disposal facility has to be set up by the Municipal Authority on their own or through the operator of facility, as well as they have to follow the standards as specified under the Rules of 2000.

The Problem at stake  More than 100 billion tones of plastic bags are produced each year across the globe which accounts for 60 kg per person worldwide and 2 kg in India as for utilization. The crisis begins when only a tiny fraction of these bags are actually recycled, therefore most of them ending up either in huge landfill dumps, or water bodies, thereby affecting the wildlife and environment directly or indirectly. Plastic debris is accumulating in terrestrial and marine environments worldwide, slowly breaking down into tinier and tinier pieces that can be consumed by the smallest marine life at the base of the food web.  Plastic consumption in India has been on the rise for the last few decades and has especially penetrated every sphere of urban life. Consumption of plastic has more than doubled since 1995-96 - from about 1.8 million tonnes to about five million tones. Presently, the plastics industry is worth Rs.25000 crores, according to news reports.  Improperly disposed plastic materials are a significant source of environmental pollution, potentially harming life. The plastic sheets or bags do not allow water and air to seep into the earth, thereby reducing the fertility of the soil, depleting underground water and harming animal life.  News reports have mentioned cows choking on plastic bags in New Delhi, while trying to eat vegetable waste from the garbage. The same is true in case of marine animals like whales, dolphins, turtles and seabirds.

 The judiciary has viewed the human rights on one hand and the environmental protection on the other hand as the two faces of the same coin. The judiciary as a guardian of fundamental right has protected the right of each individual in relation to environment under Art. 21 of the constitution.  While the problem of plastics disposal has to be recognised and accepted globally, India's particular situation could be worsened by our poor drainage infrastructure in the cities, and fewer resources to spare for post disaster rectification. Disposal of plastic waste in a country where municipal waste management systems are already weak becomes a problem of severe proportion.  Dr. Anthony Andrady, a research scientist and author of Plastics in the Environment, said, "Except for a small amount that’s been incinerated, every bit of plastic manufactured in the world for the last fifty years or so still remains. It’s somewhere in the environment."

Existing laws in India  Municipal Council Ratlam v Vardhichand and ors.- The case which was the beginning point of environment jurisprudence in India in which justice Krishna Iyer attributed the pollution free environment and public health with that of Human right aspect. Judgment and decisions of the judiciary have proved that pollution free environment and clean city is facet of Right to life. The Central Government therefore in exercise of its powers under EPA, 1986 and in supersession of the Recycled Plastics Manufacture and Usage Rules, 1999 enacted the Plastic Waste (Management and Handling) Rules, 2011.

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The Act lays down certains conditions for the manufacture of plastic bags (section 5) such asUnder s.5 of the Act, carry bags shall be white or inconformity with ISI standards. Since recycled plastic is harmful to the health, this section bans the use of carry bags made of recycled plastics or compostable plastic for storing/ carrying and dispensing food stuffs The bag should be of more than 40 microns in thickness S.6 of the Act lays down the Recycling procedure to be adhered to. Plus every carry bag should have the reg. no. of the manufacturer.

 The Delhi Degradable Plastic Bag (Manufacture, Sale and Usage) and Garbage (Control) Act, 2000 read with the Plastic Manufacturer, Sale and Usage Rules, 1999, as amended from time to time, provides that virgin or recycled plastic bags should be of a thickness not less than 20 microns and of a size not less than 8" x 12". The thickness of plastic bags should be increased to 40 microns. The existing ban on use of plastic bags in some institutions such as in four/five star hotels, hospitals with 100 beds or more, restaurants with a seating of more than 100 etc. is not effectively enforced.

INDIAN CASE LAWS  All India Plastic Industries Association v Government of NCT of Delhi- The supreme court in this case laid down the of use of virgin plastic bags which are translucent and of more than 40 microns thickness should be encouraged and this should take care of most of the health hazards particularly since these do not contain any harmful additives and can be easily identified by rag pickers for recycling purposes.

 Om Prakash v State of Uttar Pradesh- the Supreme Court took the view that the prohibition on the sale of eggs within the municipal limits of Rishikesh was a reasonable restriction within the meaning of Article 19(6) of the Constitution. It was held that the nature of the trade and the public interest sought to be served are important factors to be taken into consideration. Although it was accepted that trade in eggs cannot be considered objectionable or injurious to society, yet the prohibition was held to be in public interest. Applying the tests laid down by the Constitution Bench, it is clear that the limitation on the sale, use and storage of plastic bags in certain areas in Delhi has been laid down keeping in view the problem of solid waste management, particularly of plastic bags, which choke drains and enter the food chain thereby potentially causing health risks.

 Vinod Kumar Jain v Union Of India- The petitioner in the case argued absence of any awareness campaign or regulatory control by the civic agencies to prevent littering of plastic bags, packaged beverages, water bottles, plastic cutlery, plastic plates used in airlines, railways, wedding parties, mass gatherings at fast food joints also contributes to a great extent to the seriousness of the challenge arising out of environmental degradation. The court also held that + “a blanket ban on the use of plastic bags may be premature having regard to the fact that plastic bags are indeed part of the commercial milieu in the city and cannot be completely banned without providing cheap and acceptable alternatives. The problems arising out of use of plastic bags, as rightly pointed out by the Committee, is on account of a failure on the part of the authorities in efficiently handling the plastic waste. The need of the hour, therefore, is to ensure proper handling of waste and not a complete ban on the use of plastic bags.”  Enviro-Legal Action v Union of India- "The polluter pays" principle has been held to be a sound principle by the Court in this case. The Court observed, "We are of the opinion that any principle evolved in this behalf should be simple, practical and suited the conditions obtaining in this country."

Use of recycled bagsUse of recycled bags is in any case already prohibited for carrying of food items in terms of Section 3 of the Delhi Plastic Bag (Manufacture, Sales and Usage) and Non-Biodegradable Garbage (Control) Act, 2000 which reads as under: 3. Prohibition of throwing garbage in public places, drains sewer etc. (1) No person, by himself or by any person on his behalf manufacture for sale, or use any recycled nonbiodegradable plastic bags or containers with or without containing inorganic or organic pigments, plasticizers, lubricants and stabilizers etc. which are liable to cause poisoning of food during storing, carrying or packing of any food with in the National Capital Territory of Delhi. (2) No licence, for the manufacture, sale of recycled plastic bags referred in subsection (1) granted or received under any law before the date of commencement of this Act, shall entitle the holder thereof or any other person on this behalf to commence or carry on such business.

RECOMMENDATIONS Before the extent of the problem reaches out of bounds, environmentalists say that plastic bags should be banned completely. With many a campaigns and awareness programmes aimed towards enlightening the consumers and persuading them to reuse bags have usually gone in vain.  Cloth Bags and Jute Bags can be a good replacement to the polythene bags, but if there is no authority to command the rule, it shall not be followed. The much awaited bio-degradable plastic bags need support from the government to sustain the production in its entirety.  We probably cannot have a complete ban on the use of plastic bags but we can regulate the present for a better tomorrow. The carry bag laws enacted recently deal with just the manufacture of plastic bags. The health ministry seems very active by enacting laws like the No smoking in public places or the ban on gutkha sachets.  Recycling plastic bags is a difficult, expensive and time-consuming task. Even if biodegradable plastic bags are used it will take 100 years for it to decompose than the others which would take 3000 years to decompose and harm the environment till then.

Through this project I propose a model which would tackle the issue of plastic bags in big corporate and retail stores•

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The government should ban plastic carry bags in all major retail stores, corporates and star hotels. Plastic carry bags should be substituted with jute bags or cloth bags at these stores. The stores should be allowed to levy an additional charge in the consumers purchase. They should be given an option of returning these bags at places like the Raddiwalah’s in return for money. An environment tax should be levied on the retail stores which haven’t implemented the use. Introduce an education campaign on the environmental impact of plastic bags. A cash back incentive for customers that didn’t use plastic bags (1 or 2 percent cash back on their total purchase). Environmentally sound and economically viable modern recycling units must be established by licensed plastic bags manufactures or plastic manufactures associations on the basis of polluter pay principle. Reusable bags were placed in stores for purchase. The waste generated by plastic bags can also be used for making various items of daily use and handicraft items. It can also be used for manufacturing doors and windows. It can be used as partial fuel in cement kilns and blast furnaces of steel plants. Even railway sleepers can be manufactured by this waste. Plastic waste can also be used for generating power. This option may be addressed on priority for generating power through solid waste including plastic waste as is being experimented by local bodies in Delhi.

CONCLUSION Plastic shopping bags endanger animal species. More than 1 billion marine animals and seabirds die each year when they mistake the bags for food and ingest them. The argument against a blanket ban is that the plastic and packaging industry employs a large number of people and forms a substantial part of the economy of the country. A minimum thickness standard of 20 microns, public awareness and anti-litter campaigns, improvement of the recycling system including effective source segregation and allocation components, improvements of waste disposal system, and introduction of stakeholder (especially retail and manufacturing) codes of practice should be executed to address the plastic management effectively. Availability of alternative carrier bags (more durable, reusable and recyclable) is critical to facilitate consumer behavior change in response to the proposed policy interventions. It is left up to the private sector to organise itself using market forces to drive the need. The recent FDI in retail reform passed by the centre may yet have a silver lining as it highlights about Ikea's trash recycling initiatives in Sweden. Such initiatives would work very well in India as people are all too ready to make a few rupees worth of business, especially among the poorer urban population which are less likely to follow laws that ban the use of plastics.

BIBLIOGRAPHY  The Report of the National Plastic Waste Management Task Force, Ministry Of Environment and Forests, Government of India, 1997. Bosman, C. (2005).  Narayan, P. (2001). ―Analyzing Plastic Waste Management in India—Case study of Polybags and PET bottles‖ IIIEE Reports 2001, pp 37-49 accessed at http:// www. iiiee. lu. Se / information/ library/ publications/ reports/2001/PriyaNarayan.pdf  Shah, P. ―The Plastic Devil: Ecological Menace‖ accessed at http://www.makingindiagreen.org/plastic.htm  The source of this information is a press release of NoPE (No Plastics in the Environment) titled ―Imports Versus Surplus: A Glut of Plastics in India Today,‖ January 10, 2002. Bharati Chaturvedi, Director, Chintan Environmental Organisation in New Delhi.  http://www.indianplasticportal.com/plastic-statistics/  www.india.gov.in/sectors/environment/ministry_environment.php  http://blog.smallsteps.in/2012/11/ban-of-plastic-bags-in-india.html