Accordingly a move by the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board to ban ‘compostable’ plastic bags has earned the praise of waste management activists. Meanwhile the KSPCB has written to the Central Pollution Control Board not to certify any such plastic bags for Karnataka, after activists and experts earlier pointed out that they do not actually compost.
When speaking to reporters, a senior KSPCB official said, “We are not sure about the contents of the material when it comes to biodegradable plastic. Furthermore, in the guise of compostable or biodegradable plastic, we may end up with all kinds of fake products. We do not have a fool-proof method to distinguish them. Based on the state’s plastic ban, we wrote to the centre to exempt us.”
Further with the Karnataka government ordering a blanket ban on single use plastics, some individuals and establishments were continuing to use them as they have a CPCB certification. NS Ramakanth, former member of the BBMP’s SWM Expert Committee told “There have been instances when traders thwarted attempts made by BBMP officials to seize the material. We had also cited instances when the so-called compostable bags did not break down in our home compost bins”.
