Kerala begins New Year with plastic ban, FICCI cries foul

The apex body of trade and industry associations submits an appeal to CM Pinarayi Vijayan for more time so that traders can find cost-effective alternatives

THE state’s new year resolution for 2020 is to bid goodbye to single-use plastic.

Flex materials, drinking water bottles below 300 millilitre and disposable cups will come under banned products, though one can still purchase milk and most branded edible items in plastic packets as some of the products have been excluded from the ban.

The ban was announced after an expert committee suggested measures to reduce plastic waste. The state generates close to 45,000 tonnes of plastic waste a year.

Kochi discards close to 10 tonnes of plastic per day. Recycling facilities in the state are miniscule compared to the amount of plastic generated. The expert committee had mooted the ban as it had found that recycling alone could address the pollution caused by use of plastic.