McDonald’s, Starbucks fined for abusing plastic ban in India

McDonald’s and Starbucks were the first one to get on the radar of the team. A team of 250 officials, wearing blue uniforms and dubbed as Mumbai’s “anti-plastic squad”, has been deployed to carry out inspections of restaurants and shops across Mumbai.

Hardcastle Restaurants, the franchise which runs McDonald’s (MCD) outlets in Maharashtra, said it has begun using wooden cutlery, paper cups and straws made of cornstarch.

The spokesperson added that the chain was fined because it has not yet found similar alternatives for delivery items such as plastic lids for drinks. McDonald’s has joined restaurant associations in the region in asking for exemptions from the ban on delivery and takeaway orders.

However, Starbucks (SBUX), which runs its stores in India through a joint venture with the Tata Group has declined to comment specifically on the fine or the plastic ban in Maharashtra.

But a Tata Starbucks spokesperson said the company is committed to environmental sustainability and has already started using paper bags, biodegradable straws and wooden cutlery at many of its Indian stores.

“We comply with the local laws and regulations in every market we operate in,” the spokesperson added.

As per a State government official, the restaurant chains were among dozens of companies that were hit with fines in Maharashtra.

25 of India’s 29 states have full or partial bans on single-use plastics.

Neemit Punamiya, secretary of the Plastic Bags Manufacturers Association of India, estimates that India’s plastic industry could lose over $2.2 billion and 300,000 jobs as a result of the ban, local media reported.

Hipen Bheda, president of the All India Plastics Manufacturers’ Association, said the ban in its current form was unclear and so widely drawn that it could harm the economy.

Bheda told CNN that the association was keen to work with the government to improve waste management. He said, “The decision has to be to seek solutions to the pollution or the littering and not on killing the industry”.

Only exempted items are plastic containers used to package medicines, milk and solid waste, as well as plastic items for export.

A senior official told CNNMoney that authorities in Mumbai, India’s financial hub and the capital of Maharashtra state have collected fines worth 400,000 rupees ($5,900) on Sunday from more than 80 establishments.

The plastic ban which was announced on single-use plastic items including shopping bags, food containers and cutlery in late March came into force on Saturday.

(Also read: Tips on how you can reduce your plastic usage).

Image Source – Time