3 Years After Ban, Survey Finds Single-Use Plastics Rampant Across 4 Indian Cities

Last Updated:March 25, 2026, 17:36 IST

India banned the manufacture, import, stocking, distribution, sale, and use of identified single-use plastic items, with low utility and high littering potential, from July 1, 2022

Three years after India banned single-use plastic, a latest survey done across 560 locations across four cities found banned plastic items still being widely used at over 84% of sites.

The survey done by Toxics Link, an environmental research and advocacy group founded in 1996, covered four major cities—Delhi, Mumbai, Guwahati, and Bhubaneswar—between April and August 2025. The team found thin plastic carry bags, disposable cutlery, cups, plates, and straws were being widely found across informal markets and small commercial establishments, with particularly high usage among small vendors. While malls and larger retail outlets showed better compliance, the local and informal vendors like street food vendors, juice shops, coconut water sellers, vegetable vendors, ice cream parlours, and weekly markets showed a complete or near-complete presence of banned plastics.

“The continued presence of banned plastic items in a majority of locations suggests that enforcement remains inconsistent," remarked Ravi Agarwal, Director of Toxics Link.

Bhubaneswar was found to have the highest availability of banned single-use plastics (SUPs) at 89 per cent of survey locations, followed by Delhi at 86 per cent, Mumbai at 85 per cent, and Guwahati at 76 per cent. The survey covered street vendors, juice stalls, markets, small restaurants, grocery stores, religious sites, railway platforms, as well as organised retail spaces across all these cities.

Consumers still ask for ‘free carry bags’

According to the report, high consumer demand is driving the majority of these violations. Over 91 per cent of small vendors said customers still ask for carry bags. While 55 percent said customers bring their own bags. However, many consumers still expect vendors to provide carry bags free of cost. While alternatives exist, the vendors said they find it difficult to switch due to the high costs involved.

The report flagged major gaps between implementation and enforcement, despite better alternatives like paper cups and plates, newspaper wraps, wooden cutlery, steel utensils, aluminium foil containers, cloth bags, and thicker reusable plastic bags above 120 microns widely available in many locations.

“Vendor reluctance to transition away from single-use plastics (SUPs) is partly influenced by customer preferences. Customers also perceive disposable plates and cutlery to be more hygienic than reusable items. Our survey found that this perception, along with the cost advantage of SUPs, continues to drive their use among small and local vendors," said Satish Sinha, Associate Director of Toxics Link. “Considering the huge health and environmental concerns, it is urgent that India must move beyond bans towards sustained behaviour change and systemic solutions."

Experts also flagged the gaps in production control and distribution, which are leading to the continued presence of banned plastic products. Despite enforcement drives, these products continue to be manufactured and supplied, making them easily accessible.

India had banned the manufacture, import, stocking, distribution, sale, and use of identified single-use plastic items, which have low utility and high littering potential, from July 1, 2022. Most of the items included in the list were those that do not get recycled or collected by waste pickers but keep on circulating in our ecosystem for years. The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) had also directed the Customs department to prohibit the import of any of the notified items and asked petrochemical industries to stop the supply of plastic raw materials to industries engaged in the production of the banned items.

News india 3 Years After Ban, Survey Finds Single-Use Plastics Rampant Across 4 Indian Cities

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