Chennai: Since the time the plastic ban was announced by Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami, several people have been coming up with bio-plastics as an alternative.
However, researchers and manufacturers have an altogether different take on it. Tamilnadu, Pondy Plastics Manufacturers and Merchants Association (TANPPA) opined that it would affect the production of raw materials and the end product.
“Bio-plastic products are made from sugarcane starch. When such commodity is made in huge quantity, it, in turn, hits the produce. In this case, sugar and cane. It is not viable for several industries,” TANPPA president G Sankaran elaborated.
USER RESPONSIBILITY
Citizen Consumer and Civic Action Group (CAG) Urban Governance team researcher Kripa Ramachandran stated, “People believe that bio-plastics can be composted. A top beverage company also made a statement that the bottles would be composted by 2020. The problem with that kind of commitment is that it will either be the local body or the consumer who should take up the responsibility to ensure it is composted. In reality, it is absent in most cases.”
Activists in the city opine that unless the producers are made responsible for the product they make, they are not going to innovate or move further than bio-plastic.
“We keep speaking of new materials, delivery and distributing system and not about ways to dispose of them,” added Kripa.
The researcher also puts forth the state of our country in handling even the bio-based products in terms of conditions, resource, expertise and equipment.
SAFE PLASTIC?
The manufacturers say that they produce single-layer plastic that can be easily recycled when melted at the right temperature.
“As corporates would be asked to manufacture plastic items post implementation, in an effort to make it last long, they bring polymers exhibiting different properties such as being airtight, durable, etc., and manufacture but it makes it difficult to melt and recycle,” argued Sankaran.
“The melting point of a plastic product is different and is determined based on its characteristics. If several components are amalgamated, it dissolves at a higher temperature and in a few cases, recycling would be impossible,” he explained.
He added: the liquid substance possessing various properties cannot be recycled as only a single layer exhibiting specific feature can be kept in the machine, which is why polymer products manufactured by corporates cannot be recycled.
However, it has been six months since the ban was announced and it is learnt that plastic manufacturers had not resorted to synthesising any other alternative.
Sankaran said, “Plastic came as an alternative to cloth bags and a new substitute has not come yet. Had it come, we would have manufactured it.”
“We do not ask people to stop using cloth bags. They can choose as per their convenience and it should not be enforced. If people find it easy to use plastic, they must be given the liberty to use it,” he argued.
But Kripa said high-density polyethylene (HDPE), low-density polyethylene (LDPE) and PET bottles can be recycled. But the products the firms make and the enlisted banned products are the type that cannot be recycled, she said.
“These are materials that cannot be recycled. The absence of stringent waste segregation rules in several parts of the country has a major role to play, as it contaminates the materials that manufacturers say can be reprocessed,” stated Kripa.
| AFFECTED PARTIES |
| Manufacturers state the proposed ban would affect 15,000 registered and 10,000 unregistered micro industries, affecting the livelihood of two lakh workers.The move would incur loss approximately amounting to Rs 2,000 crore to the State GST Board and Tamilnadu Electricity Board (TNEB). |
| RECYCLE MYTH |
| According to website Our World in Data, by 2015, only nine per cent plastic waste had been recycled. This plastic was produced between 1950 and 2015. |