New research has revealed for the first time that just twenty companies are responsible for producing more than half of all the single-use plastic waste in the world. This marks an enormous contribution to the vast majority of the plastics pollutants in landfills, oceans, and the environment in general. The comprehensive new analysis published by […]
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Plastics in a time of COVID: An interview with Dr Vijay Habbu
Health Issues India in partnership with SPAG Asia hosted the webinar “In Times of COVID-19, Can Medical Care Be Delivered Without Using Plastics?” One of the participants was Dr Vijay Habbu, Polymer Scientist and Adjunct Professor, Institute of Chemical Technology (ICT), Mumbai. In advance of the webinar, I spoke with Dr Habbu to discuss this […]
Modi launches single-use plastic campaign
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has again appealed for India to end the use of single-use plastic for the good of the environment. Attending an event in Mathura, Uttar Pradesh, Modi joined a group of trash collectors and sorted through waste with them, separating plastic from other refuse. The day saw the launch of a ‘Swachata […]
Single-use plastic ban announced on six products
A ban on six single-use plastic products is being put in place as part of the Centre’s ongoing war on plastic pollution and quest for an India free from the menace of plastic pollution. From October 2nd, plastic bags, cups, plates, small bottles, some sachets, and straws will be prohibited from being imported, manufactured, sold, […]
Recycling plastic into diesel: A novel approach
Recycling is one of the main ways we are encouraged to limit our output of plastic waste. In Dehradun, the Council of Scientific Research’s Indian Institute of Petroleum (CSIR-IIP) is taking a somewhat novel approach to the practice by converting plastic waste into diesel oil. A plant for this purpose has been established at the […]
Plastic ban calls in the face of an environmental crisis
One of India’s leading youth politicians has called for a plastic ban to be enacted. “The need of the hour is to ban production, usage and sale of plastic,” proclaimed Aditya Thackeray, who leads the youth wing of the Shiv Sena political party. In an earlier tweet, Thackeray said “banning production, use and sale of […]
Plastic import ban comes into effect in August
In March this year, the Indian government announced a measure to curb pollution — banning the importation of waste plastic. This policy will come into force from August. The measure was suggested following similar policies being implemented in China in order to curb the amount of plastic waste imported from other nations, particularly those in […]
India’s problem with plastic waste
Imagine you were told your country produces 660,787.85 tonnes of plastic waste. Then imagine being told that that is not even forty percent of the story. This is the worrying implication of a new report by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), which reveals that its 660,785.85-tonne estimate for India’s plastic waste production reflects data […]