3 October

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi says his country needs to reach the goal of ending the consumption of single-use plastics by 2022, but stopped short of announcing a blanket ban.

Modi warned the public of the dangers of throwaway plastics in a speech in the state of Gujarat on Wednesday. It had been reported that Modi would announce an immediate ban on the use of six types of throwaway plastics, such as shopping bags and straws.

Local media say the Indian government is afraid of the impact of such a move on the economy. India's growth has already been slowed by the US-China trade dispute.

Industry officials have also expressed concern about the difficulty of finding alternatives to plastic items.

NHK