India Quashes Idea of Ban on Single-Use Plastics

Fresh details on the much-awaited measures against plastic pollution due to be announced in October suggest that India won’t be banning single-use plastic after all.

The country’s industries were expecting a nationwide ban on single-use plastic was imminent. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in an Independence Day speech in August, had said that Oct. 2, celebrated as the birthday of Mahatma Gandhi, would mark a “significant step” toward making India “free” from single-use plastic.

A government source on Sept. 18, however, said no ban would be imposed in the foreseeable future due to the large number of jobs that would be ...