Reference · Karnataka
Karnataka’s plastic ban, for buyers of carry bags.
Two layers of law apply to a business in Karnataka: a state direction in force since its Gazette publication on 11 March 2016, and the national Plastic Waste Management Rules, 2016, as amended. On carry bags the state direction is the stricter of the two: it applies at any thickness, and its definition of plastic names non-woven polypropylene. This page is a reference read from the published documents up to July 2022, each one linked below, and it is neither legal advice nor a source of penalty figures.
Ask about a paper or cotton switch → Go to where each item stands
The short answer
Nine things buyers ask about, and where each one stands.
The standing of each item is read from the text of the Karnataka direction of 2016, as corrected in 2017, and from the definitions in the national rules. Every standing is read from those documents, except the one row marked Ask, which they do not cover.
| Item | Standing | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Plastic carry bag, at any thickness | Listed | A, Karnataka notification, 11 March 2016 |
| Non-woven polypropylene bag, the cloth-feel kind | Listed | A, Karnataka notification, 11 March 2016 |
| Plastic plates, cups and spoons, and the same items in thermocol | Listed | A, Karnataka notification, 11 March 2016 E, Plastic Waste Management Amendment Rules, 2021 |
| Paper carry bag | Not listed | A, Karnataka notification, 11 March 2016 D, Plastic Waste Management Rules, 2016 |
| Cotton carry bag | Not listed | A, Karnataka notification, 11 March 2016 D, Plastic Waste Management Rules, 2016 |
| Laminated paper bag: ask the supplier what the lamination is and get the material stated on the quote | Ask | Not covered by the documents on this page |
| Plastic bag that is an integral part of packaging in which goods are sealed before use | Exempted | A, Karnataka notification, 11 March 2016 B, Karnataka corrigendum, 18 April 2017 D, Plastic Waste Management Rules, 2016 |
| Plastic used for packing milk and milk products | Exempted | A, Karnataka notification, 11 March 2016 |
| Plastic carry bag manufactured exclusively for export, against export orders, in a plastic industry located in a Special Economic Zone or an Export Oriented Unit | Exempted | A, Karnataka notification, 11 March 2016 |
Two layers
Two rules apply. On carry bags, Karnataka’s is the stricter.
In Karnataka, plastic carry bags are banned at any thickness. Nationally, the rule is a minimum thickness: 120 microns since 31 December 2022, as set by the 2021 amendment. A Karnataka business must satisfy both layers, and on carry bags the state direction is the stricter one.
The two layers also define plastic differently. The state direction lists the polymers it means by name, while the national rules define plastic by its essential ingredient. Both are quoted in the next section rather than paraphrased.
| Question | Karnataka | India |
|---|---|---|
| In force from | 11 March 2016, on publication in the Gazette. A, Karnataka notification, 11 March 2016 | Notified 18 March 2016, amended on 12 August 2021. D, Plastic Waste Management Rules, 2016 E, Plastic Waste Management Amendment Rules, 2021 |
| Carry bags | No person shall use them, and no industry or person shall manufacture, supply, store, transport, sell or distribute them, irrespective of thickness. A, Karnataka notification, 11 March 2016 | A minimum thickness, as set by the 2021 amendment: 75 microns from 30 September 2021 and 120 microns from 31 December 2022. E, Plastic Waste Management Amendment Rules, 2021 |
| Non-woven polypropylene | Named in Explanation 1 of the direction. A, Karnataka notification, 11 March 2016 | Polypropylene is in the Rule 3 definition of plastic. D, Plastic Waste Management Rules, 2016 |
| Other listed items | Banners, buntings, flex, flags, plates, cups, spoons, cling films and dining-table sheets, the same items in thermocol, and items using plastic micro beads. A, Karnataka notification, 11 March 2016 | The identified single-use items from 1 July 2022: ear bud, balloon, candy and ice cream sticks, plastic flags, plates, cups, glasses, cutlery, straws and trays, wrapping films around sweet boxes, invitation cards and cigarette packets, plastic or PVC banners under 100 microns, stirrers, and thermocol for decoration. E, Plastic Waste Management Amendment Rules, 2021 |
| Legal basis | A direction under Section 5 of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986. A, Karnataka notification, 11 March 2016 | Rules under the same Act, with a KSPCB memo of July 2022 directing enforcement in Karnataka. D, Plastic Waste Management Rules, 2016 E, Plastic Waste Management Amendment Rules, 2021 F, KSPCB memo, 16 July 2022 |
| Who enforces in Bengaluru | BBMP officers, KSPCB officers and district revenue officers, and, since the 2018 addendum, police officers and food safety officers. A, Karnataka notification, 11 March 2016 C, Karnataka addendum, 26 March 2018 | State Pollution Control Boards and urban local bodies, under the CPCB direction. E, Plastic Waste Management Amendment Rules, 2021 F, KSPCB memo, 16 July 2022 |
The text
The listed items, the four exemptions, and the words that define plastic and carry bag.
Listed by the direction
- Plastic carry bags
- Plastic banners, buntings and flex
- Plastic flags
- Plastic plates, cups and spoons
- Cling films and plastic sheets used for spreading on dining tables
- The same items made of thermocol
- The same items made of plastic which uses plastic micro beads
The ban covers use, and also manufacture, supply, storage, transport, sale and distribution, irrespective of thickness.
Exempted by the direction
- Plastic carry bags manufactured exclusively for export, against export orders, in a plastic industry located in a Special Economic Zone or an Export Oriented Unit
- Plastic bags that constitute or form an integral part of packaging in which goods are sealed prior to use at manufacturing or processing units
- Plastic bags and sheets used in forestry and horticulture nurseries, against orders from government departments or the firms concerned
- Plastic used for packing milk and milk products
Karnataka, Explanation 1
“Plastic” means any of the items mentioned in this direction made out of poly propylene (PP), non-woven poly propylene, multi layered co-extruder poly propylene, poly ethylene (PE), poly vinyl chloride (PVC), high and low density poly ethylene (HDPE & LDPE), poly styrene (PS) which is also called thermocol, poly amides (Nylon), poly terephthalate (PT), poly methyl methacrylate (PMM) and plastic micro beads.
Notification No. FEE 17 EPC 2012, 11 March 2016
India, Rule 3
“plastic” means material which contains as an essential ingredient a high polymer such as polyethylene terephthalate, high density polyethylene, Vinyl, low density polyethylene, polypropylene, polystyrene resins, multi-materials like acrylonitrile butadiene styrene, polyphenylene oxide, polycarbonate, Polybutylene terephthalate;
Plastic Waste Management Rules, 2016, G.S.R. 320(E)
“carry bags” mean bags made from plastic material or compostable plastic material, used for the purpose of carrying or dispensing commodities which have a self carrying feature but do not include bags that constitute or form an integral part of the packaging in which goods are sealed prior to use.
Plastic Waste Management Rules, 2016, G.S.R. 320(E)
The Karnataka corrigendum of 18 April 2017 adopts this meaning for the term carry bag in the state direction.
Paper and cotton do not appear in either definition, so a paper or cotton carry bag is not one of the items the direction lists. A laminated paper bag is a different question: ask the supplier what the lamination is and get the material stated on the quote.
The record
Eight dated entries, 2016 to 2022, in date order.
Every entry links to a published document that records it. The 2021 amendment is linked through the Press Information Bureau explainer that describes it. The page stops at the July 2022 documents.
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Karnataka: notification banning plastic carry bags and the listed items
Plastic carry bags and the listed items are banned irrespective of thickness, for use as well as for manufacture, supply, storage, transport, sale and distribution, from the date of publication in the Gazette.
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India: Plastic Waste Management Rules, 2016
Defines a carry bag by its self carrying feature, with sealed integral packaging excluded, and plastic by its essential ingredient. Sets the original minimum of 50 microns for a carry bag.
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Karnataka: corrigendum to the 2016 notification
The term carry bag now takes the meaning in Rule 3(c) of the 2016 Rules. Bags that form an integral part of packaging sealed before use stay exempt.
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Karnataka: addendum on enforcement officers
Police officers, and designated officers and food safety officers of the Commissionerate of Food Safety, are added to the officers who enforce the direction.
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India: Plastic Waste Management Amendment Rules, 2021
Notified as G.S.R. 571(E), the number cited in the KSPCB memo of 16 July 2022. Carry bags under 75 microns are prohibited from 30 September 2021 and under 120 microns from 31 December 2022, as described in the Press Information Bureau explainer of 1 July 2022.
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India: identified single-use plastic items banned
Manufacture, import, stocking, distribution, sale and use of the identified items, including plates, cups, cutlery and thermocol for decoration, are prohibited across the country.
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Karnataka: KSPCB State Control Room operational
Set up at Parisara Bhavan, 49 Church Street, Bengaluru, under the office order of 15 July 2022. It gives assistance and clarification on the items covered or excluded, and on switching to alternatives.
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Karnataka: KSPCB memo directing enforcement
Directs officers to enforce the national single-use plastic prohibition and to report on the CPCB monitoring portal, citing the Karnataka Government circular of 30 June 2022. The memo is in Kannada with English references.
Before you order
Four things to fix on the quote before you sign it.
Material named on the quote
Paper with its GSM, or cotton with its GSM. If the bag is laminated, ask the supplier what the lamination is and get the material stated on the quote.
Which layer you are answering to
In Karnataka the state direction governs carry bags and applies at any thickness. A micron figure on a plastic bag does not change its position.
Whether your use is actually exempt
A plastic bag that forms an integral part of packaging in which goods are sealed before use at a manufacturing or processing unit is exempt. The export exemption belongs to a plastic industry located in a Special Economic Zone or an Export Oriented Unit, for bags manufactured exclusively for export against export orders.
Where to ask for a clarification
The KSPCB State Control Room, set up under the July 2022 order, gives assistance and clarification on the items covered or excluded, and on switching to alternatives.
Call the KSPCB control room: 080-25582559
Number as published in the KSPCB order of 15 July 2022.
Keep exploring
Related.
Questions
The Karnataka plastic ban: FAQs.
Are plastic carry bags banned in Karnataka at every thickness?
Yes. The Karnataka notification of 11 March 2016 bans the use, manufacture, supply, storage, transport, sale and distribution of plastic carry bags irrespective of thickness. The national minimum of 120 microns set by the 2021 amendment does not change the position inside the state, because a business must satisfy both layers and the state direction is the stricter one.
Are non-woven bags banned in Karnataka?
The cloth-feel non-woven bag is made of non-woven polypropylene, and the Karnataka notification names non-woven polypropylene in its definition of plastic. That puts a non-woven carry bag inside the ban, not outside it.
Are paper and cotton bags covered by the ban?
Paper and cotton do not appear in either definition of plastic, the Karnataka one or the national one, so a paper or cotton carry bag is not one of the items the direction lists. The items the direction does list are plastic carry bags, banners, buntings, flex, flags, plates, cups, spoons, cling films and dining-table sheets, and the same items in thermocol.
What about the 120 micron rule I have read about?
That figure comes from the national Plastic Waste Management Amendment Rules, 2021, which prohibit carry bags under 75 microns from 30 September 2021 and under 120 microns from 31 December 2022. It is a national minimum. In Karnataka the state direction applies at any thickness, so a thicker plastic carry bag is still a listed item.
Who can act on a violation in Bengaluru?
The 2016 notification names the officers who enforce it: BBMP commissioners, health officers and engineers, district deputy commissioners, KSPCB environmental officers, revenue officers, tahsildars, and officers of commercial tax, food and civil supplies, and legal metrology. The 2018 addendum added police officers and food safety officers. Legal action is taken under Section 19 of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986.
Where can I get a clarification on a specific item?
The KSPCB State Control Room, operational since 5 July 2022 under the order of 15 July 2022, gives assistance and clarification on items covered or excluded from the ban, on switching to alternatives, and on compostable plastic manufacturers. The number published in that order is 080-25582559.
Proof in every fold
Send us what you carry today. We will spec the paper or cotton equivalent.
Send the bag you use now, its size and what goes in it. We reply from the Bangalore workshop, usually within one business day, with the material stated on the quote and approved on a free sample before anything is produced.