Aggrieved by the unchecked use of plastic pens, as about 27 lakh of them are produced per day which makes it impossible for the local authorities to collect and treat them as per plastic waste rules, Avani Mishra, a petitioner approached The National Green Tribunal for a solution as they are a big problem for environment.
According to the petitioner, the policy of “buy back” mechanism must be introduced as the extended producers’ responsibility (ERP) in view of the plastic usage not being enforced.
About 91% of the plastic waste in the pen is not recycled whereas 1600 to 2400 million pieces are introduced in the market each year. Since the cost of refill is high so manufactures encouraged new ones instead of using the refills.
The Tribunal therefore held that although “plastic pen” is not specifically mentioned under the Plastic Waste Management Rules, 2018, they are covered in the definition of plastic under Rule 3(o).
“Thereby, directions have been issued to finalize the EPR regime by the MoEF&CC and to the CPCB to coordinate with the State PCBs and State Level Monitoring Committees, who in turn have to coordinate with the Local Bodies, Gram Panchayats, Waste Generators, Producers, Importers, Brand Owners Recyclers, Manufactures, Retailers and Street Vendors.” The Tribunal directed.
Hope this will make manufacturers more responsible and we will see the rise of refills and ink pens again.
This article is based on a story in LiveLaw; edited by Clean-Future Team