You can get e-magazine links on WhatsApp. Click here TOP NEWS Single-use plastic ban in India and its impact on food industry Friday, 15 July, 2022, 15 : 00 PM [IST] Laltu Sinha Single-Use Plastic: Origin and Introduction Although it was the middle of the 19th century when plastics were discovered, they only gained popularity during the 1970s, when manufacturers started replacing the traditional glass and paper staples with more durable, affordable, and lighter plastic alternatives. Consequently, 8.3 billion metric tons of plastics have been manufactured since the 1950s, accounting for half of the last 15 years alone. Single-use plastics are disposable plastics intended to be used only once and then thrown away or recycled. Such plastic is utilized to manufacture a wide array of items, including plastic bags, coffee stirrers, straws, soda, and water bottles, among other food packaging items. Besides, Single-use plastics have been deployed for several important and reasonable applications, including surgical gloves and straws for people with disabilities. However, these applications are accountable for a small fraction of single-use plastic. According to a report published by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), in India, around 3.4 million metric tons of plastic waste were recorded yearly (2019-20). Furthermore, a government press release based on data received from State Pollution Control Boards and Pollution Control Committees stated India generated 41.26 lakh tons of plastic waste in 2020-21 alone. Another instance from the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry stated that nearly half of all plastic used in India (160 lakh tons) was single-use plastic in 2017. Impacts of Single-Use Plastic On Human Health Single-use plastics are not biodegradable; hence on being discarded, they remain buried in landfills or make their way into water bodies. In the landfills, these plastics do not decompose but degrade into tiny particles known as microplastics over the course of several years. Even while breaking down, they release certain toxic chemicals, which make their way into the fruits and vegetables by means of soil or enter the water supply. Recently, these toxic chemicals have been confirmed in the bloodstreams of humans. Moreover, the latest research has discovered that they disrupt the endocrine system, thus causing hormonal imbalances and health issues such as cancer, congenital disabilities, infertility, impaired immunity, and many other disorders. On Ecosystem Single-use plastics discarded on the street are washed away by rain or traverse the storm drains to reach rivers and streams. Most of the SUPs come from countries lacking underdeveloped waste management infrastructure, particularly in Asia. For instance, India produces 25,940 tons of plastic waste each day nonetheless collects only 60% of it. Single-use plastics are ubiquitous now, and plastic was discovered even at 36,000 feet (roughly 11km) in the Mariana Trench. On Wildlife The microplastics not more than 5 millimeters long are often ingested by wildlife. Thus, they accumulate inside the animal’s body and cause several health issues, like fatal intestinal blockages or punctured organs. Furthermore, marine animals bear the brunt of the invasion of plastic into their habitats. There have been instances of beached whales found with stomachs full of plastic litter. Besides, recent studies found that 90% of tested seabirds and 100% of turtles with guts infested with plastics. On Climate Plastic production contributes to global warming greenhouse gas emissions at every stage of its life cycle. Refineries, where plastics are manufactured from crude oil, are one of the most GHG-intensive industries. Thus, they lead to the accumulation of harmful greenhouse gases in the environment, ultimately resulting in the dreaded phenomenon of global warming. Ban of Single-Use Plastics in India The abovementioned impacts of the SUPs have made it obvious that there is a need to reduce plastic usage, particularly the SUPs. Consequently, the Indian Government announced a ban on the import, stocking, manufacture, distribution, and sale in addition to the use of identified single-use plastic items, having tremendous littering potential throughout the country, effective from July 1, 2022. Under this ban, several items have been prohibited, including ice cream sticks; polythene bags; candy sticks; plastic plates; glasses & cutlery such as forks, spoons, cups, knives, straws & trays made up of plastic, stirrers, wrapping films on sweet boxes, packaging/ wrapping films like cling wraps. Along with this, ‘carry bags’ of 120-micron width would also be banned by the year. Impacts of Ban on Food Industry The most significant nationwide ban on single-use plastics is likely to affect the local food sellers that sell a wide range of products such as street food, coconut water, flowers, vegetables, fruits, and others. These food sellers use single-use plastics for packaging and serving material throughout the country. Estimates reveal that plastic bags cost around Rs 40 for 250 grams while the cost of paper bags is just double. Moreover, they are not even durable and long-lasting and often break. Similarly, paper straws cost five times as much as plastic straws, which would add up to the price of the products. This is bound to impact the local food business adversely. Fast food and takeaway joints have always preferred plastic owing to their ease of handling, appearance, and value for money, durability, and moisture repulsion; however, the latest ban on the use of SUPs may be a setback to the food industry. They may have to face the effect on the volume of their sales due to the in-efficiency of the new and alternative packaging materials. On the restaurant front, where plastic consumption is reasonably massive, like garbage bags, butchery bags, straws, takeaway containers, etc., replacing them with reusable material is a significant shift. In this view, a few restaurants have switched to steel clay pots and tiffin boxes to counter significant losses on home delivery. Kotak Institutional Equities (KIE), and industry experts have claimed that the single-use plastic ban by the government would have a negligible impact on listed FMCG companies. Nonetheless, the potential extension of this ban to other single-use plastic (SUP), items, including sachets, pouches, wrappers, and laminated tubes, in the medium-term would distress the profitability of several consumer goods types. This is owing to the fact that the present ban covers items with low utility and high littering potential not widely employed by large consumers. According to industry estimates, plastic straws used with low-value packs of beverages (by companies like Dabur 2.5% sales) could see a surge in cost ranging from Rs 0.25-0.30 to Rs 1-1.25 per unit while switching to imported paper straws. Moreover, several brands had already started their transition towards environment-friendly packaging alternatives. Tata Consumer Products stated that there aren't many products on the company level falling under the ambit of the ban. The only vertical likely to be impacted was Starbucks; however, Starbucks already moved to paper packaging and other recyclable products. Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation, which owns Amul (India's largest food and dairy brand), said that although they pursued some extra time to concoct alternatives, they managed to procure a part of their biodegradable plastic straws requirement locally. Paper straws are costlier than plastic straws, but they won't pass the extra cost on to customers, which means less profitability in the short term. The ban on the Single Use Plastics by the Indian Government came against the backdrop of the rising menace of the SUP littering coupled with various harmful consequences on human health, ecosystem, wildlife, biodiversity and the global climate as a whole. As, the banned items include the products with low utility and high litter potential, it is expected to have minute impact on the FMGC giants, restaurants and takeaway joints as they already commenced their transition to more environment friendly alternatives prior to the ban. However, the petty street vendors would be the worst sufferers of the ban, hence cheaper and better alternatives to the SUP packaging would be a welcome step to maintain the effectiveness of the nationwide SUP ban. (The author is research director at BlueWeave Consulting)   This page allows you to send the current page to your friend. Your Friends Email ID: Your Email ID: Post Your Comment * Name :     *  Email :       Website :   Comments :           Captcha :  

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