Government preparing for ban from July 1, Amul wrote a letter to PMO- sought relief

The government is set to ban plastic straws found with packaged juices and dairy products from July 1. In view of this move, the country’s largest dairy group Amul has written a letter to the government. Amul has requested the government to postpone the ban on plastic straws for some time. Amul has said that this decision of the government will have a negative impact on the farmers and consumption of milk, the world’s largest milk producer.

Government is not ready

Before Amul, many beverage companies had appealed for a discount on plastic straws, but the government turned it down. Amul has appealed to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO). In a letter to the PMO, Amul’s Managing Director RS Sodhi said that plastic straws help in increasing the consumption of milk.

Many companies asked for time

This decision of the government has shaken many beverage companies including Amul, PepsiCo and Coca-Cola. But the government has refused to change its stand and has asked companies to switch to alternative straws. In a letter to the PMO, these companies have sought more time from the government to adopt an alternative to plastic straws.

Largemarket of plastic straws

Sodhi, managing director of Amul, has written in the letter that by extending the decision of ban on plastic straws for a few days, 100 million dairy farmers of the country will get a big relief. According to the news, plastic straw is a less used product, which can be replaced with paper straw. Juice and milk products priced between Rs 5 to Rs 30 have a big business in India. Most of the beverages of Amul, PepsiCo, Coca-Cola are packed on plastic straws and delivered to the customers.

Import of paper straws started

Praveen Aggarwal of Action Alliance for Recycling Beverage Cartons (AARBC), which represents beverage majors, said companies are looking at importing paper straws from Indonesia and other countries in view of the ban. Shauna Chauhan, chief executive of Parle Agro, said that the company has started importing paper straws for now, but it is not sustainable.

The government had issued a notification in August last year to ban single-use plastic. In this, it was asked to ban all types of items from July 2022. After this, the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) issued a notice.