Navigating the Plastic Predicament: Evaluation the Government's Role in Plastic Waste Management in India

Plastic waste management poses a grave threat to the environment and society at large. This research article is an attempt to present a holistic review of the plastic waste scenario in India, with a primary focus on finding out what the government has been doing in this complex task. Therefore, legal regime is currently found, as rules and regulation available such as the Plastic Waste Management Rules, 2016 as well as Plastic Waste (Management and Handling) Amendment Rules, 2021. Accordingly, the relevant details would now depict which all could act as regulatory framework towards handling plastic wastes in the current setup. This article makes use of best international practices in measuring successful strategies and approaches taken by other nations in addressing plastic waste issues. Few good case studies on India and around the globe include Kerala's "Clean Kerala" campaign and Taiwan's recycling program, as such cases help one understand achievement and failure with the same scale of information. Economic and social perspectives of the study on waste management are incorporated by this, showing economic avenues through recycling or waste-to-energy options and more on community's welfare and general public awareness measures. These eventually culminate in a set of policy recommendations that range from community engagement, better extended producer responsibility, better recycling infrastructure, wide-scale bans on single-use plastics, and effective enforcement of rules. This article will thus contribute to the global discourse on plastic waste management by providing a focused analysis of the potential and problems that India itself faces. It guides India towards a more sustainable, responsible, and cleaner future through a critical review of the role played by the government, coupled with practical policy recommendations in which plastic waste management benefits the environment, public health, and society to a large extent.