Bhubaneswar: The Odisha State Pollution Control Board (OSPCB) has included more items in the ban on single use plastic in urban areas and set the deadline of June 30 for all stakeholders to abide by its order.
In a public notice, the OSPCB has stated that manufacture, sale and use of the banned items will be strictly enforced from July 1.
As per the amended Plastic Waste Management (PWM) Rules of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, manufacture, import, distribution and sale of polystyrene and expanded polystyrene items will also be prohibited from the date.
The new plastic products which have been brought under the banned category include sticks of ear buds, sticks of balloons, flags, candy sticks and ice-cream sticks.
Thickness of carry bags made from virgin or recycled plastic will be increased from not less than 75 microns to 120 microns from December 31, 2022, the notice stated.
The Board has also directed the government agencies to intensify enforcement and take action against the violators of the order.
It may be noted that the state government had banned manufacture, sale, trade, import, storage, transport, use or distribution of polythene and single-use plastic items in October, 2019.
The products which were banned included drinking water packed in polythene terephthalate bottles of less than 200 ml capacity, cutlery made of thermocol, polyurethane or plastic, decorative materials, plastic dishes such as spoon, cup, plate, glass, fork, bowl, container and pouches, polythene bags and water pouches.
