New Zealand imposes ban on plastic bags
On Monday, New Zealand has officially banned plastic bags for retailers. New Zealand officials have said that those who continue to use plastic shopping bags will be subjected to heavy penalties.
Plastic pollution has become a global concern. In which one million birds and more than one lakh marine mammals are injured, they get entangled in packaging every year or the plastic enters through food chain. Those companies still dealing in plastic will have to face heavy fines including a penalty of up to one million New Zealand dollars.
Environment Minister Eugenie Sage said that “the people of New Zealand should be proud of our country’s cleanliness, green reputation. We want to help it live. Terminating the use of plastic bags for retailers helps in doing this. Under the new rules, shopping bags with thin plastic retail bags can not be supplied.”
The law allows re-usable plastic. The law was announced in August last year, which was implemented from Monday. The rule of plastic restriction will have little practical effect. It is known that New Zealand’s leading supermarket has already banned the bag voluntarily.
However, Sage told Radio New Zealand that the issue of recycling is being put on the agenda. The restriction does not go too far, but which is really very good. People are now talking about single-use plastic. According to the United Nations Environment Program, more than 80 countries have already banned plastics as carry bags.
Plastic problem in India
In India so far, there has been a ban on plastic bags in twenty states. According to an estimate, 5.6 million tons of plastic waste every year arises in India. 60 percent of the country’s plastic waste is thrown into the oceans of the world. According to Environment Science and Technology, three of the ten rivers in the world which carry 90 percent of the plastic in the oceans, the three main rivers of India are Indus, Ganges and Brahmaputra.
The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) said in the January 2015 assessment report that Indian cities produce 15,000 tonnes of plastic waste every day. This garbage is enough to fill 1,500 trucks with a capacity of 10 tonne. Out of which 9 thousand tons of garbage is collected and processed.
