Why a plastic ban won’t succeed.
A different perspective on India’s single-use plastic ban
On the first of July, 2022, the Indian government imposed a nationwide ban on the manufacture, import, stocking, distribution, sale, and use of single use plastics, which contributed to 130 metric tonnes of discarded waste globally in 2019 alone. In other words, this ban is a big deal for the environment. Or is it? Skeptics argue that it is merely a ploy to boost the government’s popularity and improve its reputation, especially on the international stage. Will the ban even have any impact on plastic consumption, they ask. Regrettably, they might be right.
In January 2009, the Delhi government banned the use of plastic bags in markets, and in October 2012, banned plastic bags entirely. Despite this, most people continued to use plastic bags as they normally did. In a survey by Toxics Link, 62% of vendors and 78% of consumers admitted to using plastic bags when the ban was in place — and that’s just the people who admitted to it; the actual figure is likely much higher. On the other hand, in the state of Tamil Nadu, the government was immensely successful in reducing the use of plastic. Basically, the effectiveness of plastic bans varies significantly across states, with some leaps and bounds ahead of others: the difference mainly boils down to enforcement. And in its current state, the variable success of enforcement may hinder the effectiveness of a nationwide ban. According to chief programme coordinator of the NGO Toxics Link, Priti Mahesh, there is currently no machinery in place at a state level to enforce the ban. Enforcement, she says, will be the biggest challenge confronting the government with respect to the ban.
Just the other day, I went to a shop to buy paneer (cottage cheese) and I remember the shopkeeper cut out 200 grams of paneer, and then proceeded to unceremoniously deposit it in a plastic bag. The harsh reality is that people don’t care if it’s illegal to distribute or use single-use plastic items, because they’re easily available, convenient and cost-effective. There just isn’t a better alternative in the market at the present moment. For many street vendors, in particular, alternatives to plastic are simply not feasible, economically speaking. For instance, in an interview to the Guardian, Akash Ram, a street vendor in Delhi, explained that paper straws cost five times as much as their plastic counterparts. He expressed skepticism over whether consumers would accept such a big price hike in the first place, and exhibited his fears about how it might impact his business. “I can’t afford to lose business.” he said, “As it is, all I manage to do is feed my family and nothing else.”
Even if we divert our attention to larger businesses, as opposed to street vendors, many have not had enough time to sufficiently prepare for the change — the government had initially announced the ban in August 2021, just 11 months ago. Consequently, businesses including Amul and PepsiCo have requested the government for a 12 month extension on the ban. The same problem faces the 80,000 odd companies that are manufacturing single-use plastic items. “For so many units to change their product, their machinery, their manpower and adapt to newer technologies is a very big task that cannot happen in a year”, said President of the All India Plastic Manufacturers’ Association, Kishore Sampat. Besides the survival of these businesses, the livelihoods of the thousands of employees working in companies that manufacture single-use plastic items are also at stake, many of whom are the sole breadwinners of their families.
Undoubtedly, society needs to transition away from single use plastics, but in my opinion banning single use plastics is a fundamentally wrong way to approach the problem that they present. Instead of wielding the stick, the government should harness the power of the carrot, by encouraging the use of alternatives. By investing in the R&D of alternatives, such as by providing grants to companies who strive to make alternatives cheaper, more durable and more convenient. By investing in subsidies, to make alternatives competitive in terms of their price. To effectively make it so even if someone doesn’t care about the environment; if all they care about is the size of their wallet, even then they would be incentivised to not use plastic bags. Furthermore, the government must invest in campaigns to raise public awareness of the issue, so that at the very least, those select few who can afford not to use single-use plastics, don’t. The fact is that as long as people don’t understand the importance of doing away with single use plastics, and as long as they can’t afford to do away with single use plastics, no amount of bans will succeed in curbing India’s plastic pollution problem.
