Plastic Bags To Be Banned
The government has decided to ban use of bags made of recycled plastic. A notification to this effect is on the cards.
Detailed guidelines on the management of plastic wastes will also be issued simultaneously.
The guidelines are based on the recommendations of the national plastics waste management task force which was constituted by the ministry of environment and forests.
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The ban would not affect carry bags made of virgin plastic.
The ministry has already issued a notification prescribing rules for disposal of plastic wastes in hospitals. It is awaiting the gazette notification.
According to these rules, all plastic biomedical wastes are either to be incinerated or deeply buriestd, or disinfected by auto-claving.
According to the task force's estimates, plastic waste account for only one to four per cent by weight of the total municipal solid wastes. Most of this plastic waste is reused by recycling. It has, therefore, recommended an action plan to tackle the problem.