In the News

India Proposes New Rules on Plastic Containers with Far-Reaching Implications

Dec 15, 2009

The Indian Ministry of Environment and Forests (MEF) proposed new regulations that would effectively ban the use of recycled or biodegradable plastics in food contact packages, in addition to imposing significant other requirements. Draft notification S.O. 2400(E), or the "Plastics (Manufacture, Usage and Waste Management) Rules" (Plastics Notification), applies to "containers," which are defined in the regulations to include "flexible or rigid containers made of virgin plastic or recycled plastics or biodegradable plastics with or without lid used to store or dispense commodities."

Section 5(b) of the Plastics Notification states, "no person shall use carry bags or containers made of recycled plastics or biodegradable plastics for storing, carrying, dispensing or packaging foodstuffs." Keller and Heckman LLP submitted comments on the Notification on behalf of the Society of the Plastics Industry (SPI) and the International Chewing Gum Association (ICGA) opposing the ban. The comments pointed out that: food packaging substances are already regulated by Indian government agencies other than MEF, and that sophisticated processes exist for recycling PET and other plastic materials to produce safe recycled and biodegradable materials for use in food packaging applications.

The Notification also prohibits the manufacture, distribution, and sale of "non-recyclable laminated plastic or metallic pouches, multilayered packaging, and other non-recyclable plastics." Additionally, the proposed rules mandate labeling all plastic bags and containers for commodities to indicate whether they are made from "recycled," "biodegradable," or "virgin" material.

While the Plastics Notification does not expressly ban the use of colorants, it specifies that containers made from virgin plastic be "natural in shade." SPI's comments explain that colorants in food and drug packaging are sometimes used to protect packaged products from ultraviolet rays that can accelerate the degradation of food or reduce the strength of packaged drugs. The comments also point out that consumers identify with certain products and brands by the color of the packaging.