Tamil Nadu Leads The Way, To Ban Use Of Plastic Items From 2019
Tamil Nadu announced banning use of plastic items including non-biodegradable bags from January 2019. The ban is brought under an environmental protection act of 1986 and it would come into effect from January 1 2019. This year&rsquos theme for World Environment Day 2018 is Beat Plastic Pollution. The theme invites everyone to consider how they can make changes in their everyday lives to reduce the burden of plastic pollution.
Tamil Nadu is leading the fight to ban the use of plastic items. The state on, World Environment Day 2018, announced banning use of plastic items, including non-biodegradable bags, from January 2019 in the interest of the environment and to "gift a plastic-free" state to future generations.
Chief Minister K Palaniswami made the announcement in the state assembly saying that late chief minister J Jayalalithaa had constituted an expert panel on the issue that had suggested banning plastic products, including bags, plates and cups, and recommended that traditional items such as plantain leaves and plates made of palm leaves be used.
Use of non-biodegradable plastic products, mainly polythene hampers the environment, choking the water flow and killing marine life.
Burning plastic also causes problems in the form of toxic fumes.
Also Read: I Am Running A Crusade Against Plastic, Please Join Me If You Care About The Planet!
Palaniswami said that despite the ban, the use of plastic sachets for packing milk, curd and oil and medical products will be exempted from the ban.
AP
The ban is brought under an environmental protection act of 1986 and it would come into effect from January 1, 2019, to allow people to change over to using paper bags and other products made from paper as substitutes to the plastic items facing the ban.
This year¡¯s theme for the World Environment Day 2018 is "Beat Plastic Pollution".
Railway Minister Piyush Goyal tweeted about the efforts made by Indian Railways to reduce dependency on plastic. The Railways has started using fully biodegradable packages in four Shatabdi and four Rajdhani trains from Delhi, contributing to a greener planet.
AFP
Plastic Pollution facts:
? Every year the world uses up to 5 trillion plastic bags
? Each year, at least 13 million tonnes of plastic end up in the oceans, the equivalent of a full garbage truck every minute.
? In the last decade, we produced more plastic than in the whole last century
? 50 percent of the plastic we use is single-use or disposable
? We buy 1 million plastic bottles every minute
? Plastic makes up 10% of all of the waste we generate