7/29/2019 Bio-Degradable Plastic Be Used in Food Packaging_ Himachal Pradesh HC - Times of India

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Tags: HP Non-Biodegradable Garbage (Control) Act | Himachal Pradesh High Court | Himachal Pradesh

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Bio-degradable plastic be used infood packaging: Himachal Pradesh

HCRavinder Makhaik, TNN Jan 15, 2013, 03.07AM IST

SHIMLA: The Himachal Pradesh high court has observed that only bio-degradable plastics

should be allowed in packaging of food stuff from April 1 in the state.

Hearing a public interest litigation (PIL), the bench of Justice Deepak Gupta and Justice

Sanjay Karol issued the directions after referring to a committee report on junk food.

Based on the committee report, the court observed "it is obvious that junk food items are

those which are low in fiber but tasty, contain high calorific value, large amount of refined

flour and high amount of fat and preservatives".

The judges said that banning them was not in the court's purview but to comply with the

state law (HP Non-Biodegradable Garbage (Control) Act 1995), "these harmful items which

are classified as junk foods if sold in HP in packed condition should be sold only in

biodegradable packing".

This may make these items slightly more expensive and even if the consumption of these

stuffs is reduced that will be better for the health of children and may finally end up saving

crores of rupees which the state spends on health care, the judges pointed out.

It was on the court's direction that a committee was constituted on June 19, 2010 to consider

whether a decision could be taken to totally ban use of non-biodegradable packaging in

Himachal.

The HP Non-Biodegradable Garbage (Control) Act 1995 prohibit traders, vendors and

retailers from using polythene carry bags which was later (on July 7, 2009) extended to use

of disposable plastic cups, plates and bottles.

While much of the plastic ban stands enforced in the state, the PIL was filed regarding the

packaged food which was managing to slip through the law of the land.

The expert committee pointed out that 'junk food' had not been legally defined thus far.

However, it recommended an illustrative list of food items that could fall in that category

and are not good for human health.

The list of such food mainly supplied in non-biodegradable plastic packaging drawn up by

the panel included chips, wafers, biscuits, lollypops, candies, candy bars, toffees, sweets,

chewing gums, cheese puffs, cookies, ice creams, chocolates, noodles, sugary cereals,

cornflakes and fruit cakes.

The court also expressed concern over banned polythene bags being used in some places and

directed that the authorities to make penalties harsher.

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Readers' opinions (3)

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19 Mar, 2013 05:34 PMBhavik Gajjar (Ahmedabad, India)

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19 Mar, 2013 10:05 AMAshwin (Mumbai)

Pls be careful.... Oxo-degradables are only degradable. ie: Fragmentable. If they get converted to compost they

should have EN 13432 or ISO 17088, applicable in India for fully biodegradable materials. If it was so easy to make

Polyethene as biodegradable, the y cant we add it during plastic manufacturing and make the world free of

plastics!!!

17 Jan, 2013 09:02 PM

Nishi (New Delhi )

Green Governance

16 Jan, 2013 03:07 PM

sudhanshu (India)

good news

15 Jan, 2013 06:14 PMShikha Sharma (India)

THE RELEVANCE OF DEGRADABLE PLASTIC TO INDIA 1. Degradable plastic is needed in India to address the

problem of plastic waste (usually from shopping bags and other forms of packaging) which can and does escapeinto the open environment. It can lie or float around there for decades as a visual intrusion, blocking watercourses

and entangling wildlife. 2. Symphonys d2w oxo-biodegradable Plastic is the right choice for India. Symphony is

British Public company listed in London Stock exchange. 3. Oxo-degradation is defined by CEN (the European

Standards Organisation) in TR15351 as degradation resulting from oxidative cleavage of macromolecules. And

oxo-biodegradation as degradation resulting from oxidative and cell-mediated phenomena, either simultaneously or

successively. 4. An extra ingredient is added to the normal polymer used for making plastic products,and

oxo-biodegradable plastic can already be made by factories in India with their existing machinery and workforce and

with no loss of jobs. This ingredient can be supplied in unlimited quantities. 5. The extra ingredient causes the

plastic to convert after its useful life by an abiotic process in the presence of oxygen into a material with a different

molecular structure. It is not necessary for it to be in moist or highly-microbial conditions. At the end of that process it

is no longer a plastic and has become inherently biodegradable in the same way as a leaf. Approximate timescalesfor degradation can be set at manufacture as required. 6. As explained, the biodegradation phase is preceded by

the abiotic process of degradation by oxidation. At the end of that process the material will have fragmented into

small pieces which are no longer plastic. It will no longer have any visual effect on the land or sea; it will no longerbe capable of entangling wildlife or blocking drains; and it is not toxic. Oxo-biodegradable plastics have to pass the

eco-toxicity tests in the standards detailed at 12 below. 7. That is in itself a major environmental benefit, but in

addition the material will be bio-assimilated in the open environment by naturally-occurring bacteria and fungi. 8.

The abiotic phase can be as short as a few months depending on the heat, uv light, and stress in the disposal

location. As the fragments are invisible and non-toxic at the end of that phase it is not important how long they take

for total bioassimilation. Materials such as twigs and straw, which are obviously biodegradable, will usually take

much longer than oxo-biodegradable plastic to completely bio-degrade. 9. T he relevant standards for

oxo-biodegradable plastics are ASTM D6954, and BS8472, together with UAE Standard 5009/2009; Swedish

Standard SPCR 141, and Jordanian Standard 2004/2012. Also, the French standards organisation AFNOR has

recently published an Accord no. T51-808 for testing oxo-biodegradable plastics.

18 Jan, 2013 06:21 PM

Jitendra Chaturvedi (Mumbai) replies to Shikha Sharma

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