CHENNAI: The Madras High Court has directed the Tamil Nadu government to keep in abeyance a 2020 GO that had removed the exemption given to use of plastic for primary packaging of food products until the government brings in amendments to the order banning single-use plastic products.
A bench of Justices S Vaidyanathan and PT Asha passed the order on Wednesday when a petition challenging the removal of exemption came up for hearing. Primary packaging materials made of plastic are used for packing food items such as biscuits, sweets and savouries.
The counsel for medium, small and micro enterprises (MSME) department of the Tamil Nadu government submitted that the curbs on the use of primary packing material made of plastic for packing food items could not be implemented in full due to certain practical difficulties.
Subsequently, the bench ordered the government to ‘keep the 2020 GO removing the exemption on primary packaging materials in abeyance’ until the government makes necessary amendments to the 2018 GO banning single-use plastic products that came into effect on January 1, 2019.
According to the 2020 GO, the exemption given to plastic bags that constitute or form an integral part of packaging in which goods are sealed prior to the use at manufacturing/processing units was removed following the recommendation of the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) which said that such exemptions caused hurdles in achieving the state’s goal of “Plastic Pollution Free Tamil Nadu”.
According to senior counsel Narmadha Sampath, who represented plastic manufacturers, the TNPCB had refused to renew licences and give consent for new industrial units manufacturing primary packaging materials after the exemption was removed.
“The latest court order will enable these units get their licences renewed and fresh units can get consent for production of primary packaging materials for food items,” she said. Meanwhile, TNPCB submitted that an expert committee, headed by the chairperson of TNPCB, was constituted by the state government and the committee had recommended the use of non-woven plastic carry bags with certain conditions by manufacturers in order to wipe out single-use plastic bags.
The submission was made by member-secretary of TNPCB R Kannan in an additional report filed through Additional Advocate General (AAG) J Ravindran before the bench. Commissioner of Industries and Commerce, member-secretary of TNPCB, regional director of CPCB, director of the Central Institute for Petrochemical Engineering Technology, Dr Ligy Phillip, professor, IIT-M and Dr Patterson, director of SDMRI, Thoothukudi, are the members of the expert committee.
“The committee, which met on December 22, recommended the use of non-woven plastic carry bag greater than 60 GSM on part with the Plastic Waste Management (Amendment) Rules, 2021, with certain conditions,” the report said.