Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change, Government of India and GIZ, UNEP and Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) hosted the closing session of “Awareness Campaign on Single Use Plastics” with the launch in across Western and Central India

New Delhi, 20^th December 2021

An awareness campaign on Single-Use Plastics jointly organized by Ministry of Environment, Forest, Climate Change, Government of India, GIZ, UNEP and FICCI came to an end today.

The Awareness Campaign on Single Use Plastics – 2021 was launched on the 8^th of June 2021. The Awareness Campaign brought together entrepreneurs and startups, industry, Central, State and Local Governments, regulatory bodies, experts, citizens organizations, R&D and academic institutions.

The campaign consisted of four on-line regional events, along with a social media campaign and a dedicated website.

This  high-level closing event was chaired by Mr. Ashwini Kumar Choubey, Hon’ble Union Minister of state for Environment Forest & Climate Change, Government of India, Dr. Regina Dube, Director General, German Federal Ministry for the environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear safety (BMU), Dr. Dechen Tsering, Director, Asia and the Pacific Office, UNEP, and Mr. Subhrakant Panda, Senior VP FICCI & MD Indian Metals and Ferro Alloys Limited were also present.

Mr. Ashwini Kumar Choubey Hon’ble Union Minister of state for Environment Forest & Climate Change, Government of India said that “People’s Awareness and People’s Participation is very important for successful phase out of identified single use plastic items in 2022”. The Government has adopted a multi-pronged strategy to phase out identified single use plastic items in the country, which comprised generating awareness and behavioural change, providing a regulatory regime, continuous engagement with stakeholders, strengthening the institutional mechanism for collecting, segregating, recycling and environmentally sustainable end of life disposal of plastic waste.

Taking resolute steps towards the goal of phasing out identified single use plastics by 2022 the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Government of India  issued the Plastic Waste Management Amendment Rules, 2021 on 12th August, 2021 prohibiting identified single use plastic items, which have low utility and high littering potential, by 2022.

The draft Regulations on the Extended Producer Responsibility for plastic packaging has also been notified on 6th October, 2021for public consultation. The draft regulation proposes to mandate reuse, minimum level of recycling of plastic packaging waste, use of recycled plastic content, and environmentally sound management of plastic waste.

Dr. Regina Dube and Dr. Dechen Tsering highlighted that marine plastic litter and plastic pollution has become a global environmental challenge, which needs to be addressed collectively by all nations.  They appreciated the steps taken by India to tackle plastic pollution.

Mr. Subhrakant Panda, Senior Vice President, FICCI and MD Indian Metals & Ferro Alloys Ltd said that there has been active engagement of industry on issues relating to plastic waste management. In this context, the strategy on single use plastics and its implementation should be accompanied, we feel, by an enabling policy framework for industry and consumers alike so as to have a smooth transition.

The online campaign has paved the foundation for a larger movement on tackling single-use plastic waste, bringing together stakeholders from diverse backgrounds.