Banned plastic carry baggage proceed to be used in many elements of the State
| Photo Credit: PERIASAMY M
The Tamil Nadu Pondy Plastic Association has approached Madras High Court complaining {that a} piquant scenario prevails in Tamil Nadu, with plastic manufacturers not having the ability to get hold of Extended Producers’ Responsibility (EPR) authorisation from the Central Pollution Control Board, because the State authorities is refusing to situation Consent to Operate (CTO) certificates, in view of the ban on single-use plastic merchandise.
A Division Bench of Justices V.M. Velumani and V. Lakshminarayanan has ordered notices, returnable by June 8, to the Centre and the State authorities.
In his affidavit, the affiliation’s president G. Sankaran stated that the scenario in T.N. has labored to the advantage of plastic manufacturers from others States, as they might simply get hold of the EPR authorisation whereas home manufacturers had been put to an awesome disadvantage. The petitioner’s counsel R. Saravanakumar instructed the Bench that the State authorities had issued an order on June 25, 2018, imposing a blanket ban on single-use plastics equivalent to carry baggage, flags, meals wrapping sheets, eating desk spreads, plates, tea cups, tumblers, water pouches and straws. The G.O. was upheld by the High Court on December 27, 2018 with a path to think about banning exempted plastic merchandise too.
The petitioner affiliation filed a evaluation petition in opposition to the courtroom order, and when it was pending adjudication, one other G.O. was issued on June 5, 2020 imposing a blanket ban on a number of different plastic merchandise together with packets used for promoting milk and milk merchandise, biscuits, oil, shampoo, medicines, medical tools and different such items that come packed in plastic pouches, wrappers and packets from manufacturing services.
Though plastic manufacturers in Tamil Nadu had been prevented from manufacturing such plastics, these merchandise continued to be used in the State, introduced in from different States, the affiliation stated. The Centre, alternatively, had now give you a brand new idea of EPR which positioned the onus of recycling/reuse of plastics on manufacturers themselves by insisting upon the creation of a strong mechanism for assortment and reuse.
Plastic manufacturers in the State had been unable to get hold of EPR authorisation because it was obligatory to submit a ‘Consent to Establish/Consent to Operate’ certificates which was not being issued in Tamil Nadu because the State authorities was but to get hold of permission from one other Division Bench of Justices S. Vaidyanathan and P.T. Asha of the High Court to modify the 2020 G.O., the counsel stated. He additionally instructed the Bench that the federal government had nevertheless expressed its intent to modify the G.O. earlier than the Division Bench through the listening to of the evaluation petition and the case had been posted for listening to on June 5.
