Single-use plastic ban drives up interest in wood, bamboo alternatives

• The ban on single-use plastics has led to an increase in demand for wood and bamboo dealers as manufacturers are now looking to switch to eco-friendly options.
• India recycles around 60% of its plastic waste generated in a year, and the remaining 40% ends up in landfills, on the streets, clogging water bodies, etc.
• 99 percent of the plastics were recyclable if we took steps to adequately incentivise the key players in the waste management solution - the rag pickers, said Jigish Doshi.

India produces gigantic amounts of plastic waste - over 3.5 million tonnes a year - & over a third of this is not recycled, creating a health and environment nightmare. As a solution to this intractable problem, India decided to ban the use of single-use plastic products such as straws, polythene bags etc. effective July 1.

The federal government has warned manufacturers to be careful about the usage of single-use plastic. If found to be using the banned items, the units would be seized and would face heavy penalties.

Retailers and street vendors using these banned products would be fined ₹200 for the first time, ₹500 and ₹1,000 for the subsequent two offences.

It is important to note that other plastic products — like water bottles, soda bottles, chips packets, etc — aren't covered under the ban.

Wood & bamboo products see demand

The ban on single-use plastics has led to an increase in demand for wood and bamboo dealers as manufacturers are now looking to switch to eco-friendly options, according to a report by Just Dial, which helps users find all kinds of vendors through its large database.

Almost 80% of the searches were for wood dealers and the rest for bamboo. Demand also shot up for a wide range of wooden cutlery like spoons, knives, forks, wooden trays, stirrers, ice cream spoons and bamboo sticks.

The demand for both eco-friendly options have seen a significant rise in India’s capital New Delhi, which, along with Mumbai, contributed to almost 50% of the searches among Tier-I cities. Kolkata saw the maximum rise in demand at 22% for wood dealers, according to the report.

“Sustainability is at the core of businesses now and is bringing changes across the funnel. This has led to a spike in demand for wood and bamboo dealers as manufacturers look for sustainable alternatives for single-use plastics to comply with government regulations,” said Prasun Kumar, CMO at Just Dial.

Recycling of plastics is the need of the hour

India recycles around 60% of its plastic waste generated in a year, and the remaining 40% ends up in landfills, on the streets, clogging water bodies, etc, according to the Plastic Waste Management Rules 2018-19 report.

The unmanaged plastic waste also ends up in the bellies of grazing animals, which can ultimately choke to death.

According to the report, there are over 4,700 registered and 1,080 unregistered plastic recycling units located across various states and union territories in India.

“The plastics industry is already working towards finding alternatives for almost all plastic based products. To achieve the desired objective, we will need to make a significant investment in R&D and innovative technology to develop alternative products which will take some time. The plastics Industry is already working in this direction,” said Jigish Doshi, president at Plastindia Foundation — an internationally recognised organisation which provides excellence in the field of plastic.

He added that 99 percent of the plastics were recyclable if we took steps to adequately incentivise the key players in the waste management solution - the rag pickers.

“The problem is that the ragpickers don’t have the technology or are not incentivized enough to collect small plastic waste like straws etc. Therefore, the need of the hour is a waste management solution and recycling technology that ensures proper collection and recycling of plastic waste. The rag pickers who play a key role in this process should also be given proper incentives,” Doshi added.

SEE ALSO:
Plastic alternatives after the single-use ban
Delhi airport becomes India's first to run on hydro & solar power