Page 62 - Plastics News February 2019

in the news

Pune dairies wait for meeting with Tamil Nadu may ban sachets,

minister to figure out solutions biscuit wrappers

airies in the city are hopeful of a solution to the hree weeks after the ban on 14 single-use plastic
Dissue of disposal of plastic pouches, ahead of their Titems kicked in across Tamil Nadu, the government
meeting with state Environment Minister Ramdas Kadam has cracked down on all multilayered plastic material
on February 15. Prakash Kutwal, general secretary of the used to pack items like biscuits, creams and shampoos
Milk Producers and Processors Welfare Association, said Ninety five companies have been issued notice
“We were asked to come up with solutions before the next
meeting”. He said representatives of dairies had earlier
met Pune Municipal Commissioner Saurabh Rao, who had
agreed to set up a recycling plant for pouches. Kutwal said,
“The civic body has said the amount of plastic pouches
in general solid waste… is not much.” He added that all
the dairies had already printed buyback prices on their
pouches.Last year, Maharashtra became the country’s first
state to ban plastic use. However, the milk sector was
affected by the ban as it uses plastic pouches to pack and saying they will not be able to market their products
deliver milk to consumers. The disposal of used pouches, packaged with such material in the state until they
including transportation, was to be the responsibility of register with the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board
the dairies. In Pune, about 15 lakh litres of milk is sold and comply with the PWM rules. The order, issued
in pouches per day. Dairies and plastic manufacturers by TNPCB chairman Shambhu Kallolikar on January
had protested against the ban, saying it was unfeasible, 22 has set the companies the near-impossible task
while dairies had talked about how they did not have of owning responsibility for after-use collection and
the infrastructure to treat plastic pouches. While plastic disposal of the packaging material in coordination with
manufacturers had refused to be part of the recycling the urban local bodies concerned. The rules mandate
the manufacturer and the brand owner to register
with the state pollution control board if operating in
less than two states and with the Central Pollution
Control Board (CPCB) if operating in more than
two states. We have issued notices even to companies
using tetrapacks and PET bottles as they have also
been brought into this ambit. A TNPCB official said,
“As per the rules for selling and marketing, they
need to get valid registration. Apart from these 95
companies we will issue notices to others as well using
multi layered plastic.”Tamilnadu had implemented the
ban on plastics ban since January 01,2019. The State
process, consumers were encouraged to sell the pouches government is geared to “seal, seize and stop” those
that dairies would be buying back, and then transport who don’t follow the rule. Environment Secretary
the same for recycling. Maharashtra government’s Shambu Kallolikar told The Hindu that their agenda
insistence on plastic manufacturers and dairies to set would be to ensure that the ban is implemented in full.
up a mechanism for recycling milk pouches has created “We will seal units that manufacture such items, seize
an air of uncertainty, as members of both sectors do not the banned items from retailers, wholesalers stockists
want to take up the responsibility of recycling pouches and manufacturers and stop anything that comes from
under the Extended Producers Responsibility (EPR) rules. outside the State,” he said.

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