Menace of Plastic Wastes and Hazardous Chemicals

Ministry of Environment and Forests08-August, 2016 15:59 IST

Menace of Plastic Wastes and Hazardous Chemicals

	The Central Pollution Control Board has estimated that 5.6 million tonnes of plastic waste per annum is generated in the country. A total of 684 hazardous chemical is listed under Schedule of the Manufacture, Storage and Import of Hazardous Chemicals Rules, 1989 under the Environment Protection Act, 1986.
	The Plastic Waste Management (PWM) Rules, 2016 entrust the Central Pollution Control Board to establish certification process for the manufacturers or seller of compostable plastic carry bags and frame guidelines for disposal of Thermo set plastic waste. The Local Bodies in the State Government are responsible for development and setting up of infrastructure for segregation, collection, storage, transportation, processing and disposal of the plastic waste either on its own or by engaging agencies or producers. The roles of various agencies of Central and State Governments on manufacture, storage and import of Hazardous Chemicals have been prescribed under the Manufacture, Storage and Import of Hazardous Chemicals Rules, 1989.
	The Ministry has comprehensively revised the Plastic Waste (Management and Handling) Rules, 2011 and notified Plastic Waste Management (PWM) Rules in March, 2016. The PWM Rules, 2016 provide following ways and means to minimize plastic waste generation, resource recovery, recycle and reuse: (i)           Prohibition on the manufacture, sale and use of plastic carry bags /sheets less than 50 micron in thickness, (ii)         Phasing out of non- recyclable multilayered plastic, (iii)       The collect back system of waste generated from various products by the Producers / Brand owners of those products to improve the collection of plastic waste, its reuse/ recycle. (iv)     Responsibility on plastic waste generators including institutional generators and every person organising an event in open space, which involves service of food stuff in plastic or multilayered packaging,  to segregate the waste generated by them and handover segregated wastes to authorized waste processing or disposal facilities. (v)         Registration of shopkeepers and street vendors willing to provide plastic carry bags for dispensing any commodity on payment of plastic waste management fee. (vi)       Scope for utilization of plastic waste in road construction, energy & oil generation to enhance the recycling of plastic waste. (vii)     Levy of user fee and spot fines for littering, violation by retailers/ street vendors and generators, etc.          Government has notified two rules viz. Manufacture, Storage and Import of Hazardous Chemicals Rules, 1989 and Chemical Accidents (Emergency Planning, Preparedness and Response) Rules, 1996 for ensuring chemical safety in the Country. These Rules delineate the criteria for identification of Major Accident Hazard (MAH) unit, As per these Rules, an off- site emergency plan for a district having MAH unit is required to be in place so as to mitigate the impact of chemical accidents. As per the information received from various Sate and Union Territories, there are 1,861 MAH units in the Country, located in 303 districts. This information was given by Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Shri Anil Madhav Dave, in a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha today.

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(Release ID :148504)