Indian ships to ban single-use plastic from Jan | Fusion - WeRIndia

Indian ships would prohibit various single-use plastic products onboard from January 2. These include potato chips bags, ice cream containers, hot dish cups, and microwave dishes.

Following the appeal of PM Modi on Independence Day to make the country free of single-use plastic, the Directorate General of Shipping had decided this in the public interest.

Not only in Indian ships, but also foreign ships when in Indian waters should not use single-use plastic products.

The Directorate General of Shipping issued an order prohibiting various single-use plastics from January 2, 2020, for both Indian ships and foreign ships in Indian waters.

It directed the authorities to make sure that single-use plastics are not found, used or stored onboard any Indian ship during inspection and audit.

Any non-compliance and repeated offence would lead to detention. The rules are applicable to foreign ships as well when they enter Indian waters and they will have to declare that no single-use plastics are onboard or be discharged at Indian ports.

The list has several items including plastic water bottles and drink bottles, milk bottles, bags, trays, shampoo bottles, freezer bags, ice cream containers, biscuit trays, dispensing containers, and food packaging film.

Also, items like ice cream tubs, microwave dishes, hot drink cups, protective packaging for fragile items, insulated food packaging, potato chips bag and bottle caps are banned.

In addition to that, single-use plastic cutlery plates and cups, garbage and shopping bags, plastic water of up to 10 litres and other drinks, and dispensing containers of less than 10 litres volume used for cleaning fluids are prohibited as well.

The most common items that are normally found in international ships are cigarette butts, plastic beverage bottles, food wrappers, plastic bottle caps and lids, plastic grocery bags, straws, glass beverage bottles and plastic bags.

Image credit: The Sukanya class P56 image by Robert Cutts is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0

Image Reference: https://www.flickr.com/photos/panr/3464457315