Hyderabad: Govt out to put brakes on single-use plastics

Hyderabad: Following the GO issued by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, the State government has come up with a 'Comprehensive Action Plan' to phase out single-use plastics and procedure for the implementation of 'Plastic Waste Management' (PWM) (Amendment) Rules, 2021 and Environment (Protection) Act, 1986. The Telangana State Pollution Control Board (TSPCB) along with the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) has initiated a dedicated Task Force to prosecute violators of PWM rules.

The Task Force has approved the action plan for the elimination of single-use plastics. The force consisting of the concerned Regional Officer of TSPCB includes an authorised person for the prosecution of producers engaged in manufacturing of banned single-use plastics and violating GO 40, Assistant Medical Health Officers (AMOHs) and TSPCB officers in their respective jurisdictions will prosecute the persons, sellers, vendors, retailers and other establishments for violating the GO 40 that prohibits single-use of plastics.

The State government has issued a notification for a complete ban on the manufacture, stock, sale and use of plastic carry bags less than 50 microns in thickness and if they find anyone using plastic they will be imposing penalties. The MoEF&CC issued a notification on August 12, 2021 amending PWM rules which mandated the banning of identified single-use plastic items and prescribed minimum thickness of carry bags with effect from July 01, 2022.

Explaining the about the single-use plastic, the TSPCB official said that it refers to the disposable plastic (use and throw items) which are commonly used for plastic packaging and are intended to be used only once. These include carry bags, food packaging, bottles, straws, containers, cups and cutlery and many more.

A special monitoring cell has been made that includes Involving Transport Department and Police Department Sales Tax constituted to control illegal entering of banned plastic items into the state. "Seizing transporting vehicles and confiscating of the banned plastic items and their destruction shall be done, duly levying penalties on defaulters as defined by the government," said the official.

• If a person is found producing banned plastic carry bags/ sheets, films and above listed banned single-use plastic items, a penalty of Rs one lakh will be levied on the producers for a first offence

• A penalty of Rs 50,000 will be levied for not printing the registration number of TSPCB on their carry bags/sheets and films for the first offence

• A penalty of Rs two lakh will be levied and License Cancellation and Seizure of all banned materials and recovery of expenditure incurred for the disposal of seized materials under the second offence, duly recommending for confiscating machinery by the concerned Tahsildar

All the Local Urban Bodies (ULBs) will be promoting eco-friendly alternatives to phase out single-use plastics progressively. Projects which support up-scaling or recycling of single-use plastic items will be encouraged and small-scale or micro-enterprises will be promoted, the officials added.