The plastic predicament

The world is struggling to manage its plastic waste. Oceans are brimming with plastic, rivers are getting chocked, animals are dying due to plastic ingestion and we are falling short of land to dump our plastic waste. India, the second most populous country, is struggling with this problem as well. Most states in India have supposedly banned plastic usage. Last month Maharashtra became the 18th state in India to ban the use of plastic. The Government of Maharashtra on 23 March 2018 issued the Maharashtra Plastic and Thermocol Products (Manufacture, Usage, Sale, Transport, Handling and Storage) Notification, 2018 (“Plastic Ban Notification”). The notification was meant to impose a ban on the manufacture, transport, distribution, wholesale and retail sale, usage, storage and import of certain plastic products. The reason cited for imposing a ban on such plastic products was the threat such products impose on the environment including humans and wildlife especially due to the leaching of chemicals from plastic.