Patna: Two years into the ban on single-use plastic (SUP) by the Bihar State Pollution Control Board (BSPCB), the state capital seems to have failed in curbing its use as shopkeepers and street vendors continue to pack their products in SUP carry bags. Fruit and flower vendors, sweet shops and the like can be seen using plastic carry bags across the city.
According to experts, ill-conceived plan, lack of political and administrative will, low awareness among public and non-availability of cheaper alternatives, can be attributed to the failure of the ban, which came into effect on July 1, 2022, touted as a game-changing step in the field of environment conservation.

They said the dereliction of duty on the part of the officials concerned in implementing the ban can be witnessed in vegetable and fruit markets just outside the Kankarbagh circle office of Patna Municipal Corporation (PMC). All sellers and buyers here openly use plastic carry bags without questioning from anybody, they added.
Some residents said a few days of occasional raids would not solve the problem, as it demands a consistent supervision. However, many shopkeepers expressed their helplessness for using the banned plastic carry bags. “There are no cheaper alternatives available in the market. If we do not keep these bags handy, many of our customers will return without buying anything from us because majority of them do not bring cloth bags from home, thinking we will provide them carry bags,” said a shopkeeper of Kankarbagh locality.
Gopal Krishna, an environmental lawyer and founder of ToxicsWatch, said the ill-conceived plastic ban was destined to fail, just like the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan. “Plastic ban has failed due to the defect in the very conceptual design of the legal ban. The plan did not provide any cheaper alternatives or incentives to shift from the plastic items. Manufacturers were not taken into confidence,” said Krishna.
Talking on the issue, PMC commissioner Animesh Parashar said they depended on two major steps – awareness and enforcement – for implementation of the ban, but the desired results were not achieved. “Awareness on the part of the general public is missing, which is also one of the main reasons for the failure. As far as enforcement is concerned, the PMC is doing its part diligently,” said the commissioner, adding that the PMC have imposed fines worth over Rs 20 lakh for flouting plastic ban in the last two years.
The Union ministry of environment, forest and climate change (MoEFCC) brought in the Plastic Waste Management (Amendment) Rules, 2021, enforcing complete ban on single-use plastic items of less than 50 microns thickness, which are identified as low in utility and high in littering capacity.
The items that were banned a couple of years back include earbuds with plastic sticks, plastic sticks for balloons, plastic flags, plastic ice-cream sticks, thermocol decoration, plastic plates/cups/glasses/ cutlery, plastic straws and trays, plastic wrapping, plastic invitation cards, plastic cigarette packets and PVC banners less than 100 microns.