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India has banned disposable plastic in Delhi

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Re: India has banned disposable plastic in Delhi

#31

Note: Thank you for down voting for pointing out a glaring 'fake statistics' and poor journalism, on a #1 trending post on HN. The first and the second quote do not mean the same thing, not even close. "A massive 60%t of the plastic waste in the oceans is said to have come from India, according to the Times of India." The TOI reads - "Banning disposable plastic is a huge step for the capital and the country because I…

Is their claim factually incorrect?

Re: India has banned disposable plastic in Delhi

#32

What are they going to replace plastic with ? Can you invent a kind of material that is as capable as plastic but has zero negative effects on the environment ?

Wash and reuse steel cutlery? (I know people who carry little tins with forks, spoons and chopsticks they can assemble and reuse).

Seattle has a plastic bag ban and you can use paper bags or just bring you own reusable bags.

Bottled water in developed nations is typically less regulated (and has a lower quality) than tap water. This doesn't apply to India of course, but maybe this will force Delhi to seriously fix their municipal water supply to world standards. Even if it doesn't, most homes and restaurants have water filters, and people can simply carry reusable bottles even plastic ones (the disposable variety are what's banned).

Re: India has banned disposable plastic in Delhi

#34
post #8

Plastic is the least of Delhi's problems. First they should be banning vehicles that don't meet emission standards. I visited there twice and I'll be lucky if I don't come down with some lung problem. Edit: They should ban the burning of plastic, not plastic itself. And enforce it.

No matter what we do it will never wipe away your prejudice, my friend.

Vehicle emissions (and other air pollution) are a problem all over the world. The USA and especially California now have reasonably tight emissions control standards, but Los Angeles used to have horrid smog, to the point children would be told not to go outside to play on the worst days. Now after public outrage followed by well enforced regulatory changes, it’s much better.

In general, a relatively small percentage of older vehicles produce a huge proportion of auto emissions. If governments can enforce regular emissions tests and pull the offending vehicles off the road, it makes an enormous difference to air quality.

Re: India has banned disposable plastic in Delhi

#35
I do not see any coverage in Indian media. Could it be one of those official notifications which public at large hardly follows but it breeds corruption by enforcement officials. Though looking at Indian papers I came across this rather frightening news:

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/environment/pollutio...

Re: India has banned disposable plastic in Delhi

#36

Rwanda also has this policy, since 2008, and they enforce it. The country is very clean, it looks different than other African countries (and countries like the US), just because there is no plastic rubbish everywhere. I think this is a very good policy, and would welcome it at home. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/feb/15/rwanda...

My father told me that American highways used to be lined with trash until it was made illegal to throw trash out the window.

In Silicon Valley, there is far more trash along highways than there was 30 years ago, well beyond simple per-capita pace.

Re: India has banned disposable plastic in Delhi

#37
post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's not that it needs to be equally capable in each way - you need something that is more degradable and ecologically sensible for each specific case.

Or, in some cases, reusable. Most places in the US that have banned disposable plastic grocery bags are encouraging reusable bags.

Some chains had been giving discounts for "bring-your-own-bag" even before the outright bag ban. Sprouts still does!

Re: India has banned disposable plastic in Delhi

#38

Not a huge fan of outright bans, and think this is probably the wrong priority for India to focus on. (I understand this is just Delhi) Air pollution is huge right now. And sad to say, people pooping in streets and rivers is still a major problem. To me, plastic remnants are a very minor issue in comparison.

But a ban on plastic bags is easy, it is quick and immediate. Whereas the other problems you mention may take decades, if ever, to solve. At least they're doing something. And it's not like the people enforcing the ban would be the same people who would otherwise install air and water filtration systems. If there's anything India does have in abundance, it's manpower.

Re: India has banned disposable plastic in Delhi

#39

Rwanda also has this policy, since 2008, and they enforce it. The country is very clean, it looks different than other African countries (and countries like the US), just because there is no plastic rubbish everywhere. I think this is a very good policy, and would welcome it at home. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/feb/15/rwanda...

My father told me that American highways used to be lined with trash until it was made illegal to throw trash out the window.

I've been told this too. There was a massive anti-littering campaign in the 1950s called "Keep America Beautiful" and it was ironically initiated by the packaging industry[0].

[0]http://www.motherjones.com/mojo/2006/05/origins-anti-litter-...

Re: India has banned disposable plastic in Delhi

#40

Not a huge fan of outright bans, and think this is probably the wrong priority for India to focus on. (I understand this is just Delhi) Air pollution is huge right now. And sad to say, people pooping in streets and rivers is still a major problem. To me, plastic remnants are a very minor issue in comparison.

Even if you poop in your fancy bungalow toilet, it does end up in the rivers, along with detergent and toxic toilet cleaners.

Banning disposable plastic and non biodegradable detergents would go a great way in letting microbes and plants do their job in cleaning up the environment.

With plastics not clogging up the rivers and chemicals not killing all river life, the rivers would definitely run much cleaner. This move was incidentally meant to curb air pollution, so clean rivers or oceans are an added benefit.

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