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Ban on plastic: The devil is not in the use, but in the lack of recycling

As more states move to ban plastic, FMCG companies and environmentalists see the value in repurposing and reusing plastic

Plastic, garbage can
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Companies are installing vending machines that pay Rs 1 through electronic transfer to consumers who deposit PET bottles. Photo: Sanjay K Shamra

T E Narasimhan Chennai
Nine thousand tonnes. That’s how much plastic waste India generates every year. Unfortunately, most of it is dumped in landfills and drains, choking the canals and rivers, in the absence of proper recycling facility. 

Several states have responded to this problem by pledging to ban single-use plastic altogether. After Maharashtra, Gujarat and Delhi, Tamil Nadu is the latest to impose a ban on certain types of plastic.

Nineteen states, including Jammu & Kashmir, Sikkim, Haryana and Rajasthan, have announced some kind of ban or another on plastic products so far. In Tamil Nadu, all types of non-degradable plastic, mostly items