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Journalism of Courage
Nine months after the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) directed the three municipal corporations to ensure prohibition of plastic in the capital, the North corporation Friday issued a public notice to this effect.
The Plastic Waste Management Rules, 2016, (notified in March 2016), dictate a clamp down on manufacture, stocking, distribution, sale and use of plastic. In its public awareness notice, the North corporation stated, “All plastic bag/ multi-layered packing/ compostable plastic manufacturers, importers, brand owners using plastic bags, distributors, vendors and the public in general are informed to comply with Plastic Waste Management Rules, 2016.”
The CPCB has asked the corporations to constitute “vigilance squads to ensure prohibition on stocking, distribution, sale and use of any carry bags of thickness less than 50 microns, and sachets/pouches using plastic material.” However, the corporations had said they would not proceed with the ban without informing the public.
The new Plastic Waste Management Rules, 2016, puts the onus of restricting use of plastic in cities on local bodies. In this regard, the CPCB directed the three municipal corporations to ensure prohibition on use of plastic bags less than 50 microns in thickness.
The directions were issued by the CPCB on September 20, 2016, with instructions to implement the same within 45 days. A deadline of two years was set by the Centre to phase out manufacture and use of non-recyclable multi-layered plastic.
