Critical Evaluation of Single-Use Plastic Ban in Maharashtra

Desklib offers solved assignments and past papers to help students succeed.

DISSERTATION
A CRITICAL EVALUATION OF SINGLE-USE PLASTIC BAN ON THE PLASTIC
INDUSTRY OF MAHARASHTRA (INDIA)

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION......................................................................................................................................................... 3
AIM AND OBJECTIVES........................................................................................................................................ 5
RESEARCH OBJECTIVES.................................................................................................................................... 5
RESEARCH QUESTION........................................................................................................................................ 6
BACKGROUND OF THE RESEARCH.............................................................................................................. 7
RATIONALE OF THE RESEARCH....................................................................................................................9
ORGANIZATION OF STUDY............................................................................................................................10
REFERENCES............................................................................................................................................................ 11

INTRODUCTION
The usage of plastic is ballooning rapidly. With the immense popularity and ease of using
them, the industry leaders and the distributors collaborated in recent past and this gave
rise to the manufacturing of different varieties of plastic bags. Single plastic items are
easier and cheaper to manufacture and relatively lighter. These are some advantages that
make them popular among the manufacture and consumers (Economic times, 2019).
Single used plastic items have many negative impacts associated with them. For example,
Single-use plastic used for the food and water packaging contains many harmful elements.
They negatively impact human health and they also lead to several diseases. Many studies
have suggested that the use of plastic for food packaging should be ban in a phased manner.
The importance of single-use plastic ban is understood with the fact that it has been
included in the priority list much international organization working for the conservation
of nature. To eliminate the use of plastic due to its negative impact on the health and
environmental degradation it causes the government of MH has formulated a policy for the
same (Saumya and Sunnera, 2019).
The government of Maharashtra has prescribed a state-wide ban on single-use plastic
items as all types of plastic bags, glasses, carry bags; thermocol cup and also thermocol
used for the aesthetic purpose are included under the purview of the ban. This ban comes
into force on 23 June 2018. Many business analyses by the subject experts have found this
blanket ban and prescribe fine of 5000 and 10000 Rs for the first and second-time
offenders respectively ineffective in curbing the use of plastic for the business units. For

example, many fruits, vegetable seller and grocery items sellers are giving plastic bags
freely. The MPCB was given the authority to implement the ban order (PTI, 2019).
The ban on the single-use plastic is comprehensive and it includes manufacturing usage
and import. The GOI has also planned to ban the single-use plastic items due to a rising
level of plastic pollution and their negative impact on the marine ecosystem. As per the
data available, the EU has planned to eliminate the use of single-use plastic items by 2021.
China's profit-making hub Shanghai has also pledged to eliminate the use of plastic items
(Economic times, 2019).
Such measures taken by many national and international agencies to eliminate the use of
disposable plastic items are due to their contribution to environmental degradation,
negative impact on marine life.
This blanket ban did not go well with the industry as plastic become an integral part of the
manufacturing and distributing and the plastic manufacturing industry has rejected this
ban furiously. This move has affected their business doing and profit margin substantially.
Many studies have identified the alternative for single-use plastic and recommended their
elimination in a phased manner (Bell et al., 2014).

AIM AND OBJECTIVES
The eventual aim of this study is “A critical evaluation of single-use plastic ban on the
plastic industry of Maharashtra (India)”
Following are the objectives of the business:
 To identify the effectiveness of a blanket ban on the single-use plastic items by the
government of Maharashtra.
 To identify the factors that are responsible for plastic pollution across the World.
 To examine the impact of the ban on the plastic manufacturing industry of
Maharashtra.
 To identify the alternatives available for single-use plastic items.
RESEARCH QUESTION
Following are the research questions:
1. What are the factors that are responsible for plastic pollution across the World?
2. What is the impact of the ban on the plastic manufacturing industry of Maharashtra?
3. How effective is the blanket ban on the single-use plastic items by the government
of Maharashtra?
4. Why many global organizations support this ban?
5. What the alternative available with the manufacturer of plastic to sustain their
business?

BACKGROUND OF THE RESEARCH
The usage of the plastic items has gained immense popularity in the recent past due to
their easy manufacturing, handling and supply. The use of plastic has contributed to the
increase in plastic pollution substantially. The plastic pieces have also entered in the
marine ecosystem as they are consumed by the marine creatures. This creature has in turn
consumed by human beings and gave rise to several health problems. These plastic
particles are called microbeads.
Microbeads are impacting the marine life, killing the fishes etc. the plastic items are also
non-degradable and of not used in a controlled manner they can have serious
repercussions on the environment. To make this impact into the consideration the
government of Maharashtra has prescribed a state-wide ban on single-use plastic items as
all types of plastic bags, glasses, carry bags; thermocol cup and also thermocol used for the
aesthetic purpose are included under the purview of the ban.
Though this ban has been enforcing to conserve the environment but this also several
impacts on the Plastic industry. The plastic industry is one of the leading industries and
can have a serious negative consequence on the job market, profit generation and
employment level. It has been argued that it is not easy to find an alternative for the
business. This will affect the short term profit margin of the business as the alternative to
the plastic is not that cost-effective.
The cost-effectiveness and the protection of the jobs of different stakeholders of the plastic
industry are crucial for the State. The ban can only be effective if it is complemented by
effective technology and proper investment. This going to be costly in the near future but

will achieve economy of the scale. This is the reason for conducting this research is to
critically evaluate a single-use plastic bag on the plastic industry. The result gained from
this research will help in the stakeholders of the plastic industry to devise alternative and
along with balancing business profits.
RATIONALE OF THE RESEARCH
The usage of the plastic items has gained immense popularity in the recent past due to
their easy manufacturing, handling and supply. The use of plastic has contributed to the
increase in plastic pollution substantially. Plastic pollution also has a negative impact on
the health of the human being. This is the reason for conducting this research is to critically
evaluate the single-use plastic ban on the plastic industry. The result gained from this
research will help in the stakeholders of the plastic industry to devise alternative and along
with balancing business profits.
The reason for choosing this topic is to identify the present and potential impact of the ban
on single-use plastic. This topic has a potential impact on the environment and society. It is
also important to find the cost efficacy and safeguard the jobs of different participants of
the plastic industry. With the conduction of this research, the importance of the State can
be identified. This topic is chosen as it is of immense importance for the industries and also
for the academic purpose. This topic was covered in my study module. These are all
reasons to select this topic for study.

ORGANIZATION OF STUDY
This research is divided into various segments to complete this project with efficacy. To
maintain the excellence and flow in the research project, this project is divided into small
modules. The purpose of this division is to complete the project in the stipulated
timeframe.
The literature review provides an in-depth understanding of the research project. This part
covers the major dimension of the topic and the consequences of the ban by the public
authorities and their impact on the public and private bodies. This part also helps in the
formulation of research methodology for the chosen topic. The quality of the research, its
impact and result gained from it depends on the effectiveness of the research project.
The research methodology part includes the organization of data and statistics, methods
used to collect the data and the tools used for the interpretation of data. The method used
for the collection of data is mixed i.e. both quantitative and qualitative methods are used
for the collection of data. The quantitative method is conducted with the questionnaire and
interview. The data collected is primary data and the secondary data is collected using the
secondary sources and these are the analysis of different scholarly work and data available
from both the online and offline sources.
The methods used for the collection of data and these methods are highly reliable. The
researcher distributed a questionnaire among 100 participants to identify their views and
behaviour. The outcome of the research will be gained through the analysis of research
data with the use of analysis tools and techniques. The outcome gained will be compared
with the aims and objectives to assess the effectiveness of the result and gain desired
outcomes.

REFERENCES
Animals Australia, 2019. Plastic not fantastic (Online available at
https://animalsaustralia.org/features/plastic-microbeads-poisoning-marine-life.php last
accessed on 1 Sep 2019).
Bell, J., 2014. Doing Your Research Project: A guide for first-time researchers. McGraw-Hill
Education (UK).
Economic times, 2019. Government looks to (Online available at
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/government-looks-to-
junk-plastic-water-bottles/articleshow/70925916.cms last accessed on 1 Sep 2019).
Economic times, 2019. Plastic ban Maharashtra (Online available at
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/topic/plastic-ban-Maharashtra last accessed on 1
Sep 2019).
PTI, 2019. Plastic ban https://www.firstpost.com/india/a-year-after-plastic-ban-bmc-
collects-rs-3-47-crore-as-fine-lodges-489-firs-activists-term-move-a-farce-6887601.html
last accessed on 1 Sep 2019).
Quinlan, C., Babin, B., Carr, J. and Griffin, M., 2019. Business research methods. South
Western Cengage.
Saumya Tewari and Sunnera Tondon, 2019. CAIT urges (Online available at
https://www.livemint.com/industry/manufacturing/cait-urges-companies-to-stop-using-
single-use-plastic-by-2-october-1566617842214.html last accessed on 1 Sep 2019).