The Maharashtra government on Monday issued a notification easing the restrictions on single-use plastic, eight days after enforcing a ban on plastic, the Hindustan Times reported. Retailers and wholesalers can now pack grain and groceries in plastic packets.
The relief comes with the condition that they ensure the plastic packaging is more than 50 microns thick and its manufacturers’ name, what type of plastic it is and its buyback price are mentioned on the packet, The Indian Express reported.
An unidentified official said retail packaging manufacturers will have to develop a system for the collection of plastic through a buyback option and guarantee the recycling and disposal of the collected plastic within three months.
The notification ordered manufacturers to immediately stop using non-recylable plastic. “As per Plastic Waste Management Rules, 2016 issued by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change on March 18, 2016, the manufacture and use of non-recyclable multi-layered plastic had to be phased out in two years,” the Hindustan Times quoted the notification as saying. “As the period is over, manufacturers should stop use of non-recyclable multi-layered plastic immediately.”
The government also plans to bring the e-commerce industry under the purview of the ban after three months. The industry has been allowed this period to develop eco-friendly alternatives to the use of plastic on the guarantee guarantee that it will collect and recycle the plastic used in this time.
The state government has empowered the railways, metro, Maharashtra Maritime Board and Airport Authority of India to penalise violators in accordance with the rules.
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