Starting from Gudi padwa, the Maharashtra cabinet has imposed a ban on the use of plastic bags and single use disposable products like forks, spoons, plate, bowl, cups and straws. The draft of the proposed ban also mentions items such as flex boards, banners, plastic wrapper, plastic sheets and flags. With this Maharashtra become the eighteenth state to ban plastics in India. Not to forget the fact that the state contribute to 30 percent of all plastic waste in India. The decision of ban plastic comes after the flooding in Mumbai in 2017 which was the result of plastic waste.
The ban excludes plastic used for packaging medicines and also when the manufacturer takes the responsibility to recycle it. The goods that are exempted are plastic containers and sachets use for packing grains, pulses and plastic/tetra packs used to pack milk and water. As the complete ban of the plastic may also result in the hike in prices of the products.
To ensure the recycling of pouches and bottles, the state government will levy a refundable charge on them. It is state that the state government will charge on additional Rs. 1 on PET plastic bottles and 50 paise on milk pouch, which will be refunded when the consumer return the pouch or bottle.
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