BHUBANESWAR: Action on the direction of the Central Pollution Control Board, the State government imposed a ban on manufacture, import, stocking, distribution, sale and use of identified single use plastic items from Friday. A senior official of the Forest, Environment and Climate Change department said the Odisha State Pollution Control Board (OSPCB) is the implementing authority while the Panchayati Raj and Housing and Urban Development departments will enforce the ban in rural and urban areas.
He further said the Transport department will also have a major role to play in proper enforcement of the ban as the states and Union Territories have been instructed by the Central Pollution Control Board to set up border checkpoints to stop interstate movement of any banned single use plastic items.
The identified items include single-use disposable cutlery such as plates, cups, glasses, forks, spoons, knives, straws, trays, wrapping or packaging films around sweets boxes as well as ear buds, plastic sticks for balloons, flags, candy sticks, ice-cream sticks, polystyrene (thermocol), invitation cards, stirrers, cigarette packets, plastic or PVC banners of less than 100 microns.
A ban was already imposed on polythene bags under 75 microns in September 2021. It will be extended to polythene bags under 120 microns from December this year. On the day, awareness and enforcement activities were carried out in different parts of the State ahead of the enforcement of the ban from July 1.
Officials of Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) carried out awareness and enforcement drive from Nalco square to Damana in which around 2.5 quintal of singe use plastic items including one quintal polythene were seized. Around `1,800 fine was also collected.
“People, especially traders and vendors, who are found flouting the norms will face action as per the Plastic Waste Management Regulations 2021,” said BMC Commissioner Vijay Amruta Kulange.
BMC officials said zonal level squads have been formed to check use of the prohibited items and take appropriate action against the violators.