THE Union ministry of environment and forests (MEF) has laid down specifications on the manufacture of polythene bags in order to make them eco-friendly, which could often be recycled. Union environment minister Suresh Prabhu also called upon the industry to share its responsibility for the clean-up of the polybag mess.
Prabhu has called upon the industry to increase the thickness of Virgin poly-bags to 25 micron and those made from recycled plastics to 25 micron from the present five micron. According to Dilip Biswas, chairperson of the Central Pollution Control Board, will ensure that the bags have a good resale value and are picked up by the rag-pickers for recycling. This industry has also been asked to abide by standards laid down by the Bureau of Indian Standards.
The minister warned the industry that if it does not meet the new standards, polythene bags will be completely banned. The use of recycled polybags containers made of recycled plastics - has been banned for packaging and carrying edible food products.
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