The last straw: Why India’s ban on single-use plastic has left beverage manufacturers nervous

In August 2021, the Centre, following through on its 2019 resolution to address plastic pollution in India, announced a ban on single-use plastic. Also known as disposable plastics, these items – plastic bags, straws, coffee stirrers, soda and water bottles and most food packaging – are used only once before they are thrown away or recycled. In February, the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) announcing that the ban would take effect from 1 July, issued notices to producers, stockists and e-commerce sites so that these items are no longer used or sold. Items such as ear buds, flags, candy and ice-cream sticks, decorative thermocol, PVC banners less than 100 micron thick, stirrers, wrapping films, cups, glasses, and cutlery, among others won’t be allowed. Also read: India set for single-use plastic items ban: What won't be allowed, how this will help environment Now, as the deadline approaches, some in the business industry getting nervous. What happened? Large beverage firms have written to the Centre to exempt plastic straws from the single-use plastic ban. As per Deccan Herald, the Action Alliance for Recycling Beverage Cartons (AARC), which represents more than 15 companies including Parle Agro, Coca-Cola, Parag, Dabur and CavinKare, along with packaging firms such as Schreiber Dynamix and TetraPak, in a letter to the Prime Minister’s Office warned that the change will impact the ease of doing business. They further requested “an extended time frame for the transition from existing integrated straws to another commercially viable food-grade alternative”. India’s biggest dairy group Amul has also written to the government urging it to delay a planned ban on tiny plastic straws, saying the move will have a “negative impact” on farmers and milk consumption in the world’s biggest producer of the commodity. In its letter, signed by managing director RS Sodhi, the $8 billion Amul group said the straws help promote milk consumption, and called for the ban, part of Modi’s drive to stamp out polluting, single-use plastic, to be postponed for a year. A delay would “provide huge relief and benefit” to 100 million dairy farmers who “safeguard our food security in terms of milk and milk products”, Sodhi wrote. But why? Money, money, money… The market is estimated by an industry body to be worth $790 million. As per _The Times of Indi_a, makers of beverages such as Frooti, Real, Tropicana and Maaza, who attach small plastic straws to help buyers puncture the juice boxes and drink, are facing a crisis. Companies say making changes like substituting a paper straw for plastic or redesigning boxes to tear and drink may force them to hike their affordable prices. Priced between 5 rupees and 30 rupees, small beverage packs containing juice and milk products are hugely popular in India and part of a much bigger market for such beverages. Pepsi’s Tropicana juice, as well as Coca-Cola’s Maaza and Parle Agro’s Frooti mango drinks, are also among top-selling beverages. Industry estimates show 6 billion of such packs are sold each year in India. Parle Agro’s Chief Executive Schauna Chauhan said the company had started importing paper straws for now but it was unsustainable. “The economics just does not match up for a 10 rupee product,” she said. Paper straws not feasible yet The companies say it isn’t feasible to replace plastic straws with paper straws or simply importing paper straws. “When it comes to paper straws, we are currently sitting at zero capacity. We have urged the government to give us transition time,” said AARC CEO Praveen Aggarwal told The Times of India. “The intention of government is good. But currently, our country simply does not have the capacity to manufacture paper straws which have to be imported and are 5-6 times more costly. Also, they are not as effective as plastic straws,” Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation managing director RS Sodhi told The Times of India. Besides, Sodhi said, plastic straws do not even account for 0.1 % of the total plastic consumption. How long do they need? It varies. But companies say they need anywhere from a year to three years. A source familiar with the government’s thinking has previously told Reuters the straws were a “low-utility product” which should be replaced with paper straws or packs with re-designed spouts instead. With inputs from agencies