India bans some single-use or disposable plastic

India banned some single-use or disposable plastic products on Friday as a part of a longer federal plan to phase out the ubiquitous material in the nation of nearly 1.4 billion people.

In the first stage, it has identified 19 plastic items that aren't very useful but have a high potential to litter and have made it illegal to make, import, stock, distribute or sell them.

These range from plastic cups and straws, to ice cream sticks. Some disposable plastic bags will also be phased out and replaced with thicker ones.

Thousands of other plastic products — like bottles for water or soda or bags of chips — aren't covered by the ban. India said that the banned items were identified while keeping in mind the availability of alternatives: bamboo spoons, plantain trays, or wooden ice-cream sticks.