Madras High Court imposes blanket ban on use of 28 plastic items in Western Ghats
CHENNAI: The Madras High Court has imposed a blanket ban on 28 plastic items, including PET bottles, cups, tumblers, plates, carry bags and plastic films used for food wrapping in the Western Ghats ranging from the Nilgiris to the Agathiyar Biosphere in the Kanniyakumari district.
The ban comes as a lasting measure to protect the environment and ecology of the pristine Western Ghats.
A special division Bench of justices N Sathish Kumar and D Bharatha Chakravarthy passed the orders recently on the petitions seeking to ban the plastic bottles and other such products that harm the environment in the Nilgiris.
“The manufacture, storage, supply, transport, sale, and distribution of the 28 items are banned throughout the Western Ghats, sanctuaries, and tiger reserves, starting from the Nilgiris up to the Agathiyar Biosphere in Kanyakumari District, which includes the Nilgiris and Kodaikanal hill areas,” the Bench said in the order.
The banned items include plastic pet bottles used for packaged water, mineral water and juice, plastic sheet/cling film used for food wrapping, sheets used for spreading on dining table, plastic thermocol plates, plastic coated paper plates, paper cups, tea cups, tumbler, plastic coated carry bags, non-woven carry bags, water pouches, packets, straw, flags and plastic carry bags of all sizes and thickness and cutlery items made of plastics.
“Upon a complete reading of the 2018 and 2024 GOs on the ban on plastic items, and the earlier orders of this court dated September 25, 2019 and recognising the serious necessity, we reiterate and hold that these items shall stand banned for manufacture, use, sale and transportation,” it said.
The Bench said the shop owners, vendors or any other persons involved in distributing snacks, biscuits or any other consumables packaged in multi-layered wrappers, foils, multi-layered covers, sachets, pouches or other non-biodegradable packaging materials shall cut open the packages and transfer the contents to biodegradable paper covers made of butter paper which do not contain plastic materials.
Alternatively, they may use natural products made of leaves, kora grass and earthen mud, it said.
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