The central government on Friday announced that the manufacture, distribution, sale and use of all identified single-use plastic items like cups, cutlery, plates and straws will be banned from July 1 next year, in an attempt to make the country single use plastic-free.

The thickness of polythene bags will also be increased from 50 microns to 120 microns over a course of several months in two phases. Defining the single use plastic items, the government mentioned in its notification that "single-use plastic commodity" is a plastic item intended to be used once for the same purpose before being disposed of or recycled. The notification added that urban local bodies and gram panchayats will be responsible for setting up a waste management system and maintaining it. These bodies will apparently be required to ensure plastic waste segregation, collection, storage, processing and proper disposal.

Listing the plastic items, the government's notification dated August 12 specified, "The manufacture, import, stocking, distribution, sale and use of following single-use plastic, including polystyrene and expanded polystyrene, commodities shall be prohibited with effect from July 1, 2022: ear buds with plastic sticks, plastic sticks for balloons, plastic flags, candy sticks, ice-cream sticks, polystyrene (thermocol) for decoration; plates, cups, glasses, cutlery such as forks, spoons, knives, straw, trays; wrapping or packing films around sweet boxes, invitation cards, and cigarette packets, plastic or PVC banners less than 100 micron, stirrers."