Pollution watchdog faces ire of parliamentary panel over plastic waste | India News - Times of India
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NEW DELHI: Flagging a CAG report that pointed to loopholes in the efforts to deal with plastic waste in the country, a parliamentary panel has expressed disappointment at the "lackadaisical" approach of the central pollution watchdog, CPCB, in dealing with the problem and asked the environment ministry to bridge the data and implementation gaps to fight the plastic menace.
Though the panel, Public Accounts Committee (PAC), noted the ministry's efforts to deal with plastic waste since May 2021, its 57-page report underlined the absence of effective measures that could save people from the hazards of plastic pollution.
The PAC report on 'pollution caused by plastic' was tabled in Parliament during the budget session. The 22-member committee, comprising MPs of various political parties from both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, is headed by Congress member in the lower House Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury.
Plastic waste generation has increased substantially from 15.9 lakh tonnes per annum (TPA) in 2015-16 to 41.2 lakh TPA in 2020-21. Data from 2019-20 shows that 50% of the total plastic waste in the country (34.7 lakh TPA) remained unutilised, leading it to pollute air, water and soil, and ultimately affect human health.
The PAC noted a big data gap, observing from CAG’s 2022 audit findings that many state pollution control boards (SPCBs) did not provide data on plastic waste generation for the period 2016-18 to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). It also noted that data received from SPCBs was not validated by CPCB and in certain cases, there were inconsistencies in data shared by urban local bodies (ULBs) with SPCBs.
Underlining gaps in data, the panel expressed the need to have a "reliable assessment" of the amount of plastic waste being generated and said it should be the first step towards managing the problem efficiently. It recommended "mandatory" reporting of data online on the national dashboard.
The ministry had banned hard-to-collect/recycle, single-use plastic (SUP) items with effect from July 1, 2022, and prohibited manufacture, import, sale and use of plastic carry bags thinner than 120 microns (one micron is a thousandth part of a millimeter) from December 31 the same year. Besides, it also notified extended producer responsibility (EPR) rules to streamline collection and recycling of plastic waste.
The PAC, however, was of the opinion that a "comprehensive policy is required" for containing pollution caused by plastics. It observed that "finding a cost effective and dependable alternative to plastic" was a prerequisite for its elimination.
It said immediate and effective steps, in addition to EPR, including spreading awareness about eco-friendly alternatives and ill-effects of SUP, providing funds for R&D on finding alternatives, making implementing agencies accountable, promoting use of recycled plastic content and increasing recycling facilities may be taken to "efficaciously enforce the ban on SUP on ground".
“Notifying EPR is fine but the government will have to ensure that it doesn’t remain on paper. There is a need to keep a close watch on industries to see whether they actually do required collection and recycling or instead making false, if any, claims,” said Vinod Shukla, president of Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay Smriti Manch (PDUSM) - the NGO which has been working on the ground to deal with plastic waste.
Shukla told TOI that there is also a need to adopt a bottom-up approach where every block in the country should have at least one plastic waste recycling unit. “Industries or private entities should be incentivised to set up such units at local levels and they should, in turn, work closely with waste pickers and collectors/ kabadiwala through effective remunerative measures,” he said.
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Though the panel, Public Accounts Committee (PAC), noted the ministry's efforts to deal with plastic waste since May 2021, its 57-page report underlined the absence of effective measures that could save people from the hazards of plastic pollution.
The PAC report on 'pollution caused by plastic' was tabled in Parliament during the budget session. The 22-member committee, comprising MPs of various political parties from both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, is headed by Congress member in the lower House Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury.
Plastic waste generation has increased substantially from 15.9 lakh tonnes per annum (TPA) in 2015-16 to 41.2 lakh TPA in 2020-21. Data from 2019-20 shows that 50% of the total plastic waste in the country (34.7 lakh TPA) remained unutilised, leading it to pollute air, water and soil, and ultimately affect human health.
The PAC noted a big data gap, observing from CAG’s 2022 audit findings that many state pollution control boards (SPCBs) did not provide data on plastic waste generation for the period 2016-18 to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). It also noted that data received from SPCBs was not validated by CPCB and in certain cases, there were inconsistencies in data shared by urban local bodies (ULBs) with SPCBs.
Underlining gaps in data, the panel expressed the need to have a "reliable assessment" of the amount of plastic waste being generated and said it should be the first step towards managing the problem efficiently. It recommended "mandatory" reporting of data online on the national dashboard.
The ministry had banned hard-to-collect/recycle, single-use plastic (SUP) items with effect from July 1, 2022, and prohibited manufacture, import, sale and use of plastic carry bags thinner than 120 microns (one micron is a thousandth part of a millimeter) from December 31 the same year. Besides, it also notified extended producer responsibility (EPR) rules to streamline collection and recycling of plastic waste.
The PAC, however, was of the opinion that a "comprehensive policy is required" for containing pollution caused by plastics. It observed that "finding a cost effective and dependable alternative to plastic" was a prerequisite for its elimination.
It said immediate and effective steps, in addition to EPR, including spreading awareness about eco-friendly alternatives and ill-effects of SUP, providing funds for R&D on finding alternatives, making implementing agencies accountable, promoting use of recycled plastic content and increasing recycling facilities may be taken to "efficaciously enforce the ban on SUP on ground".
“Notifying EPR is fine but the government will have to ensure that it doesn’t remain on paper. There is a need to keep a close watch on industries to see whether they actually do required collection and recycling or instead making false, if any, claims,” said Vinod Shukla, president of Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay Smriti Manch (PDUSM) - the NGO which has been working on the ground to deal with plastic waste.
Shukla told TOI that there is also a need to adopt a bottom-up approach where every block in the country should have at least one plastic waste recycling unit. “Industries or private entities should be incentivised to set up such units at local levels and they should, in turn, work closely with waste pickers and collectors/ kabadiwala through effective remunerative measures,” he said.
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