Gangtok, April 14 (PTI): The Sikkim Pollution Control Board (SPCB) recommended the state government to ban plastic bags of less than 75 micron thickness by the end of this year.
It also urged the government to phase out of plastic bags with a thickness of less than 120 micron in the next phase as a part of the efforts to make Sikkim a plastic-free state.
The recommendations were made after a meeting convened by the SPCB with elected representatives and officials of the seven civic bodies in the state.
The meeting discussed measures for phasing out single-use plastic items and developing enforcement strategies for effective implementation of the Plastic Waste Management Rules (PWM), 2016 and subsequent legislation.
The SPCB suggested that the state government should allow only those plastic bags which have labels, mentioning their specifications.
It recommended setting up a task force for checking plastic use in the state.
Single-use plastic items such as earbuds, plastic flags, candy sticks, ice-cream sticks, thermocol cutlery, wrappers, packing films, invitation cards, PVC banners and stirrers, among others, should also be completely stopped with effect from July 1, it said in a statement.
Market inspections should be carried out on regular basis to check the compliance, it added.