Why plastic flowers not included in list of banned items: HC asks Centre

The Bombay High Court on Wednesday sought to know why plastic flowers were not included in the list of single-use plastic items banned by the Union government.

A division bench of Chief Justice Alok Aradhe and Justice Bharati Dangre asked if the Centre thought that plastic flowers could be recycled, or are biodegradable.

The HC was hearing a petition filed by the Growers' Flower Council of India (GFCI) seeking a direction to the Centre to prohibit the use of plastic flowers. "Is the Union government sure that plastic flowers can be recycled, or that they are biodegradable? They are so flimsy. Can they be recycled?" the court asked, referring to the Centre's affidavit stating that these flowers were not in the list of banned items.

The bench referred to a notifications issued by the Union government which stated that single-use plastics which cannot be recycled, or are not biodegradable, are banned.

"Are you sure plastic flowers cannot be included in this list?" the bench asked.

The court directed the petitioner organisation to file an affidavit in response to the Centre's stand in two weeks.

The petition claimed that the maximum thickness of plastic flowers used for decoration is usually 30 microns. Various notifications issued by both central and Maharashtra governments prohibit the production, stocking, distribution and sale of single-use plastic items including ones which are less than 100 micron thick, it said. The notifications do not specifically mention plastic flowers. The government should ban plastic flowers with less than 100 micron thickness, the petition said.

The website of the Growers' Flower Council of India describes it as an "association of independent growers, exporters of cut-flowers and ornamentals, input suppliers, florists, wedding decorators and each beneficiary in the chain of flower consumption by end users".