Laws On Plastic Pollution

Mankind has always been inventing things that impact life on earth. One such invention is the invention of 'Plastic'. Plastic has come a long way from its earlier form of celluloid, bakelite to the creation of Styrofoam and vinyl. While this 'pilable and easily shaped'^[1] material has many valuable uses, it is its disposal that poses a major threat and causes severe social and environmental impact, perhaps for centuries which cannot be easily ignored.

The plastic bags and plastic water bottles (PET) in particular are biggest contributors of plastic waste. It has been estimated that 8.3 billion tonnes of plastic have been produced since the early 1950s and about 60% of that plastic has ended up in either a landfill or the natural environment^[2]. In the year 2018-19, the estimated plastic waste generation in India was around 34 lakh tonnes/per annum^[3]. In order to curb this disaster, several Governments have woken up and are fighting to contain and reduce the use of