Some disposable plastic bags will also be phased out and replaced with thicker ones to encourage re-use.
Thousands of other plastic products – such as plastic bottles – are not covered by the ban, but the federal government has set targets for manufacturers to be responsible for recycling or disposing of them after their use.
A nationwide ban that includes not just the use of plastic, but also its production or importation was a “definite boost,” said Satyarupa Shekhar, the Asia-Pacific coordinator of the advocacy group Break Free from Plastic.
Companies such as PepsiCo and Coca-Cola Co had lobbied for straws to be exempted from the ban.
In 2020, over 4.1 million metric tons of plastic waste was generated in India, most of which isn’t recycled. This is the same weight at 410,000 killer whales!
