By Sushmita Roy

The world’s second largest country, India, is all set to get rid of its single-use plastic by 2022, Prime Minister Narendra Modi told assembly members present at the United Nations on Friday.

“Even as I am addressing you today a very large campaign is being started across the entire country to make India free of single use plastic,” he said.

Cities across the country in more than half of its 29 states and seven territories have drafted a legislation that aims at stamping out single use plastics from the areas well within the year.

Authorities told Reuters in August that India plans to impose a nationwide ban on plastic bags, cups and straws starting on Oct. 2.

About 80% of the waste generated by India is discarded, ending up on the streets and in its water bodies. Picture Credit: Meena Kadri/ Flickr

Although, each person in India generates less plastic when compared to big polluters like the United States and European Union, the quantity increases by a huge amount when taking into account the waste generated by the country’s population of 1.3 billion people.

“But India’s systems and processes are such that we cannot afford to let our guard down. Also, countries should not be competing about this, saying we are not consuming so much, give us some leeway to consume more [plastic],” Wilma Rodrigues, founder and CEO of Saahas Zero Waste, a waste management social enterprise based in Bengaluru, told the Economic Times.

Most plastic is made out of petroleum that comes from fossil fuels and does not bio-degrade but eventually breaks down into small particles over the years, releasing toxic chemicals in the atmosphere.

According to data released by PlastIndia Foundation, a conglomeration of associations and organizations that deal with plastic, India consumes an estimated 16.5 million tonnes, enough to fill 1.6 million trucks, of plastic annually. Of this, 43% is single-use plastic — disposable plastics like spoons, cups, coffee stirrers and food packaging that are usually thrown after using once.

About 80% of the total plastic produced in India is discarded, which means it ends up in landfills or enters the oceans. About 40% of waste goes uncollected. From the Bommasandra-Jigani in Bengaluru to Juhu Beach in Mumbai, much of India’s land areas and water bodies have become unauthorized landfills due to improper waste management and over-flowing landfills.

And despite the growing issue and effective bans in many cities, plastic production in India has only increased over the years.

“Merely announcing a ban will not solve the problem of plastic disposal. It has to be regulated at all points, strictly enforced and monitored.” Due to ineffective monitoring, “everybody flouts the rules so the ban does not serve the purpose,” Rodrigues said.

India to Get Rid of All Single-Use Plastic by 2022: Modi at UNGA