New Delhi: Despite plastic carry bags thinner than 120 microns being prohibited since Dec 31, 2022, an activist who collected 19 random samples of carry bags stamped as 120 microns found that all of them were 60 microns or less. The findings raised questions over the enforcement of the mandatory thickness norm.
Activist Varun Gulati, who collected 19 samples from random places, found that none of them met the mandatory criterion of 120 microns. “These polybags had stamping of 120 microns. Centre’s ban on single-use plastic, announced on July 1, 2022, prohibited the manufacture, sale and use of 19 low-utility, high-litter plastic items. Carry bags that are less than 120 microns were banned from Dec 31, 2022. A report by the environmental group Toxics Link this year highlighted major gaps in enforcement and called for urgent nationwide action to strengthen implementation as banned plastic products were found in 86% of surveyed locations in Delhi.
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Such carry bags are illegally being manufactured in Delhi and action should be taken against them,” Gulati said. “It may be get tested at Central Institute of Petrochemicals Engineering and Technology (CIPET) or a laboratory recognised under the Laboratory Recognition Scheme 2020, of the Bureau of Indian Standards or laboratories accredited for this-purpose by the NABL,” a reply from CPCB on July 6, 2026, said. The move was aimed at curbing plastic pollution, which has severe environmental and health consequences, including microplastic contamination and ecosystem damage. Gulati got the samples tested after he filed an RTI reply with Central Pollution Control Board on plastic waste management and sought where he can get the tests done. The reports of the tests, whose copy is with TOI, were done at CIPET. No response came from Delhi Pollution Control Committee in the matter. Download the TOI App.