The All India Plastics Manufacturers Association (AIPMA) is claiming a small court victory with the plastic bag ban enforced in Delhi in 2011, by pushing for reforms on solid waste management.

In a statement issued, AIPMA says, “Notice was issued to State Pollution Control Boards, Central Pollution Control Board and Municipal Corporations of some bigger cities e.g. all Metros, Jaipur, Bangalore, Agra and direction was issued to them to file an Affidavit explaining as to why they have not implemented various Waste Management Rules enunciated and enacted/framed in different Rules and Acts e.g. Municipal Solid Waste Management Rules 2000 and Latest Plastic Rules of 2011. Thus, AIPMA jointly with various other associations have successfully persuaded the Honourable Court that the issue at core is not the nature and character of Plastics (and the same is not hazardous from any angle or any assessment or report) but the issues relating to waste management of the same and that the issue has to be dealt with in holistic sense i.e. not only Plastic Waste Management but overall Solid Waste Management.”

AIPMA says the notice has given it “more courage to fight the case as we notice that the Honourable Court is thinking positive and looking deeply into core issues of Solid Waste Management, which was also part of an earlier Supreme Court Judgement in March 1999, that laid down some guidelines in its report, on Solid Waste Management in Class 1 cities in India.”