New Delhi [India], October 21 (ANI): Amid the Nationwide campaign to eliminate single-use plastic, following a notification released by the central government, the country has seized around 46 tonnes of single-use plastic so far, officials said on Thursday.

The Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change (MoEF&CC) issued a Notification on August 12 this year, stating that the production, sale, stocking & distribution, import, and usage of identified Single Use Plastic (SUP) items including cutlery items, thin packaging films, candy & ice-cream sticks to be banned from July 1.

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In order to ensure its implementation Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) had earlier issued comprehensive Directions to State Pollution Control Boards (SPCBs), Pollution Control Committees (PCCs), and other stakeholders. Directions were issued to manufacturers to stop raw material supply to the SUP producers and E-commerce companies to stop the sale & usage of SUP items on their platforms.

Several enabling measures such as training of MSMEs for switching over to alternatives to plastics have also been taken up by CPCB during this period. Digital interventions including the development of the SUP Compliance Monitoring Portal & SUP Public Grievance App were taken up to facilitate effective monitoring of activities related to the enforcement of the ban. CPCB along with SPCBs/PCCs also conducted inspections of major commercial establishments from July-August 2022.

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Further augmenting its efforts, CPCB started a special drive on October 17 and more than 50 teams have been deployed for conducting inspections to restrict usage of SUP items by the flower sellers, street vendors, sabzi mandis, fish markets, wholesale markets, etc. State Urban Development Department officials participated during inspections. SPCBs/PCCs have also been asked to conduct similar drives.

A total of 20036 inspections including 6448 inspections by CPCB teams were carried out on October 17. Over 4000 violations were observed and 2900 challans have been issued to the defaulters. Approximately 46 tonnes of SUP items have been seized and a fine of Rs. 41 lakhs imposed by the concerned Authorities.

An attempt has been made to break the supply chain of SUP items in the market through backtracking. Retailers, wholesalers, and factories engaged in manufacturing SUP items have been traced and a huge cache of the banned items was seized during the inspections. Checks are also being carried out at interstate borders to prevent interstate transportation of banned SUP items.

CPCB plans to further intensify the inspection in the coming days for the elimination of SUP from all sections of the economy. (ANI)

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