Penalties for violating single-use plastic ban will kick in after July 10 in Delhi: Environment Minister Gopal Rai

As per the Act, failure to comply with the provisions is punishable with imprisonment which may extend to five years with a fine which may extend to Rs 1 lakh or with both. Teams have been constituted by the Delhi Pollution Control Committee and the Revenue Department to enforce the ban.

Rai was speaking at the inauguration of a three-day fair to promote alternatives to single-use plastic items at Thyagraj Stadium. Stalls at the fair set up by self-help groups, start-ups, NGOs and other companies had cutlery made of bagasse and wood, packaging made of sugarcane pulp, and bags made of bamboo and jute.

Exhibition of Non Plastic products called Plastic VikalpMela at Thyagraj Stadium in New Delhi on Friday. (EXPRESS PHOTO BY PRAVEEN KHANNA 01 07 2022)

Meanwhile, single-use plastic items continue to be used and sold in the city – shelves of supermarkets still have tetra-packs with plastic straws attached to them, cigarette packets sold on Friday continued to have a film of plastic on the outside, and eateries in parts of the city continued to use plastic spoons and glasses.

But there have been changes, with shop owners swapping plastic disposables with more eco-friendly ones. Raj Kumar, who runs a shop selling disposable items in Lajpat Nagar, said he stopped ordering plastic disposables about a month ago so that the existing stock could be sold before the ban kicks in. The shop now has items made of paper and sugarcane. “These are easily available, though they are a little more expensive than plastic. These are alternative items that have been around for some time. No new products have come in recently,” he said.
Chandan Rathi, a shopkeeper selling disposable items in INA Market, said most of the products he stocks now are eco-friendly ones: “We started keeping such items seven or eight years ago. They were more expensive then, but are getting cheaper now.” Of the stock at his store, only around 5% to 6% would be single-use plastic items that he cannot sell anymore, he said. The rest comprises plates made of banana leaves and sugarcane, spoons of wood, and cups made of paper.

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Sant Ram, who runs a cart selling nimbu paani outside INA Market, said, “If I was able to buy the plastic glasses, they are definitely still available. I buy whatever is available. If they ensure that the plastic ones are not available in shops at all, everybody will start buying other things. The paper cups are maybe a little more expensive, but they are good.”

The single-use plastic items that are now banned are ear buds with plastic sticks, plastic flags, plastic sticks for balloons, candy sticks, ice cream sticks, thermocol used for decoration, plates, cups, glasses, forks, spoons, knives, trays, straws, stirrers, plastic wrapping film around sweet boxes, invitation cards and cigarette packets, and plastic or PVC banners of less than 100 microns.