Activists seek to end production of multi-layer plastic in south India

Ecological activists filed a petition in the Southern National Green Tribunal to end the production of multi-layer plastic (MLP) in south India.

Southern National Green Tribunal of India is to take action to stop the production of multi-layer plastic (MLP) by social activists. 

An official of ‘Poovulakin Nanbargal’ (Friends of the Earth) shares with RVA News about the petition and its concern, quoting the words of Amit Ray, Indian author, and spiritual master “Plastic pollution-free world is not a choice but a commitment to life – a commitment to the next generation.” 

One of their main concerns is plastic. Plastic is a great threat to the environment of the world. There are various types of plastics in daily use. All types of plastics must be eradicated from use. That must be the aim to save nature and to present it to the next generation.

Yet at this moment Tamil Nadu, an Indian state located in the southern part of India, has already issued an order banning the one-time use of plastic.

There are also other rules for other types of plastics. The rules of behavior are closely observed by nature lovers and social activists.

Multi-layered plastic is becoming a major environmental problem today, especially in plastic waste.

Store-bought chips packets, biscuit packets, processed fruit juice packets, and all packets of shampoo oil sachets, including chocolate packets, are made of polystyrene plastic that cannot be recycled or otherwise used or safely disposed of.

It is recommended that industrial pollution and the discarding of plastic waste must be stopped for the sake of all life.

It is noteworthy that Unilever, one of the world's largest sellers of various products in multilayer plastics wrappers, recently closed its recycling plant without any notice, claiming that it was recycling multilayer plastics at a cost of billions.

Ecological activists Krishna (garbage collection worker representative) from Bangalore city of Karnataka state, Anthony Clement Rubin (wildlife activist), and Saravanan (fisherman representative) from Chennai, Tamil Nadu, in their petition outlined various relevant data as to why polythene plastic should be banned altogether. 

In February, they filed a petition in the Southern Green Tribunal seeking a complete ban on multi-layer plastic.
 

In 2018, the federal Indian government aimed to ban all multilayer plastics that are not recyclable, not re-usable, not combustible, and that cannot be re-generated as energy by 2020.

Even though it has been clearly stated that MLP plastic is manufactured because of negligence on the part of the government and the authorities, it continues to be manufactured.

In their petition, they point out through data that even the burning of multi-layer plastic such as paper and aluminum, including plastic, can cause serious environmental and health hazards.

They also point out that government plastic policies are largely in favor of corporations and multilayer plastic is generally used only in packages sold by corporations.

Tetra Pak (Pvt. Ltd.) alone produced 2,25,360 metric tons of multilayer plastic in 2020-21 and blended it into the environment, they said in their petition. 

The petitioners ask that the government provide documentation on the number of bulk plastics produced, how they were handled, how the Extended Manufacturer Responsibility (EMR) was enforced, and what actions were taken under the Plastic Waste Handling Rules of 2016. 

The government is also urged to fully implement the 2016 Palladium Plastics Act of the union of the states of India and to take legal action if it violates the law.

On February 18, 2022, the petition was heard by the Judicial Member of the Southern Regional National Green Tribunal Ramakrishnan and Expert Member Satyagopal.

At the request of the petitioner, the Pollution Control Board of the States of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Kerala, and Karnataka, the Central Pollution Control Board of India, and the industries accused by the petitioner were directed to respond to the measures taken to control the production of polystyrene plastic.

The reality is that the problem of plastic threatening the environment cannot be fixed in any way without completely banning the production and use of multilayer plastic.

(Budhali Prakash from Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India contributed to this report)