Context:
Microplastics found in Indian salt & sugar brands
Microplastics:
- Tiny plastic particles, typically less than 5mm in length, found in the environment.
- Originate from the fragmentation of larger plastic items and the direct release of small plastic particles
- Often added to consumer products like cosmetics and cleaning agents.
- Types –
- Primary Microplastics –
- Designed for commercial use, such as in cosmetics, and microfibers from clothing and textiles.
- Enter into environment through product use, spills during manufacturing or transport, and abrasion during washing.
- Secondary Microplastics –
- Result from the breakdown of larger plastic items like water bottles.
- Occurs through weathering, exposure to wave action, wind abrasion, and ultraviolet radiation from sunlight.
- Primary Microplastics –
- Impacts –
- Microplastics are not biodegradable and accumulate in the environment.
- Ingested by marine organisms, causing harm and bioaccumulation along the food chain.
- Can carry toxic chemicals and pollutants, posing additional risks to organisms and ecosystems.
Initiatives to Combat Microplastics:
- Global Partnership on Marine Litter (GPML) – Launched at the Earth Summit in 2012.
- Aims to reduce and control marine litter, wastewater, and pollution from fertilizers.
- GloLitter Partnerships Project – Launched by the International Maritime Organization (IMO)and Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
- Aims to prevent and reduce marine plastic litter from shipping and fisheries.
- 30 countries, including India, have joined.
- London Convention, 1972 – Controls all sources of marine pollution and regulates dumping of waste materials into the sea.
- Includes the 1996 Protocol to the London Convention and the 1978 Protocol to the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL).
India-Specific Initiatives:
- Elimination of Single-Use Plastic
- Plastic Waste Management Rules, 2016 – Local bodies are made responsible for segregation, collection, processing, and disposal of plastic waste.
- Plastic Waste Management (Amendment) Rules, 2018 – Introduced the concept of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR).
- Un-Plastic Collective (UPC) – Voluntary initiative launched by UNEP-India, Confederation of Indian Industry, and WWF-India.
- Aims to minimize the ecological and social impact of plastics.
Source: The Print
Previous Year Question
As per the Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016 in India, which one of the following statements is correct?
[UPSC Civil Services Exam – 2019 Prelims]
(a) Waste generator has to segregate waste into 5 categories.
(b) The Rules are applicable to notified urban local bodies, notified towns and all industrial townships only.
(c) The Rules provide for exact and elaborate criteria for the identification of sites for landfills and waste processing facilities.
(d) It is mandatory on the part of the waste generator that the waste generated in one district cannot be moved to another district.
Answer: (c)
