Amid strong calls for a blanket ban on single-use plastic (SUP), about 89 per cent places in Bhubaneswar, capital of Odisha, have been found to be ruled by the banned SUP products, finds a recent survey.
The Odisha capital, in fact, surpassed Delhi, Mumbai and Guwahati in use of SUP products, revealed the field study carried out by Toxics Link, a New Delhi-based research and advocacy organisation.
Toxics Link carried out on-ground assessment of the effectiveness of the single-use plastic ban in different locations across Delhi, Mumbai, Bhubaneswar and Guwahati between April and August 2025. The methodology combined direct observation with structured survey tools to generate robust, city-level insights.
Out of a total of 560 samples in all four cities, SUPs were found at 471 sample locations showing a compliance of only around 16 per cent. Bhubaneswar was found to be the least compliant city where SUPs were found at 89.28 per cent of sample locations. It was followed by Delhi, Mumbai and Guwahati in the order of increasing compliance and decreasing number of samples where SUPs were found.Based on the availability of SUPs found in the sample locations, Bhubaneswar was also found to be leading with a staggering 89 per cent of locations showing availability of the banned products. None of the places in the Odisha capital was found to be 100 per cent complaint to zero SUP. About 40 per cent of the malls surveyed were using the banned SUPs. Non-woven bag was the only banned product found in these locations. Alternatives were being used in all the malls and included products like wooden cutlery, paper straws, paper cups, paper bags, steel utensils and reusable plastic cutlery.
Besides, SUPs were found in 90 per cent religious spots, 89 per cent small restaurants, 80 per cent of community food servings and 67 per cent card shops. About 80 per cent tourist spots surveyed also found with products like straws, cutlery, cups, carry bags and non-woven bags made up of single use plastic, though there were alternatives available such as paper cups/plates, leaf bowls/plates, wooden cutlery and steel cutlery. Food stalls, street vendors, coconut water sellers, ice-cream parlours, sweet shops, railway platforms, bus depots, toy shops, wholesale markets, vegetable vendors, weekly markets, cigarette shops, grocery stores, party decoration outlets and market places were among the poorest to comply to the no single use plastic norms.
All street vendors were found to be providing banned SUPs to customers. These included SUP carry bags and cutlery, while ice cream parlours too offered one or more of the SUP items like non-woven bags, cutlery, carry bags and/or cups, though they provided alternatives such as wooden sticks, steel cups, wooden cutlery, paper cups, paper straws and/or paper bowls.
Similar was the story with railway platforms where single use plastic carry bags were also available.
Bhubaneswar was closely followed by Delhi where the SUPs were found in 86 per cent sample locations. In Delhi too, the survey findings indicated poor overall compliance with the single-use plastic ban across most location categories.
A majority of sites such as food stalls, street vendors, juice shops, coconut water sellers, sweet shops, railway stations, religious spots, toy shops, wholesale markets, vegetable vendors, weekly markets, cigarette shops, grocery stores, decoration shops, tourist spots, small restaurants, and local markets showed 100% presence of SUPs, indicating poor compliance. A few locations, including community food servings (80%), ice cream vendors (60%) and metro stations (75%), demonstrated partial compliance, suggesting some reduction in SUP use.
Mumbai was not too far behind with 85 per cent locations showing availability of SUPs . Survey results in financial capital of the country also indicated poor compliance with the single-use plastic ban, as SUPs were found in most locations. Guwahati was found to be the most compliant city with SUPs, yet it also had SUPs in 76% of the surveyed locations.
Overall, SUPs were found in around 84% of all the samples collected in four different cities. The survey report stated that the findings showed a significant deviation from the restrictions imposed by the government on the use of SUPs in the country. It pointed out that though government agencies conduct planned raids in certain areas, compliance in most surveyed locations remains very low or, in some cases, entirely absent.