TN Anti-Plastic Drive: 15 Tons Seized, Power Cut to Illegal Manufacturing Units
Checks were also being done at interstate borders, along with the Police Department, during inspections, it said.
Chennai: An intensified special enforcement drive against the use of the banned Single-Use Plastics (SUPs), carried the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) in coordination with the respective local bodies all over the State during the festive season, led to the detection of 2,553 violations and the seizure of 15.56 tons of banned single-use plastic items.
An official press release on Friday said that penalties amounting to Rs 12,50,200 were levied in accordance with the prescribed norms and a total of 9,248 shop inspections and enforcement raids were conducted during the drive.
The sustained enforcement action also led to the closure of manufacturing facilities and the disconnection of power supply to more than 290 illegal units engaged in the manufacture of banned single-use plastic items across the State since 2019.
Of these, 13 units had been closed during the last six months, as part of ongoing efforts to curb the manufacture, storage, supply, transport, sale and distribution of banned “use-and-throw” plastic items, the release said.
The drive that commenced in the fourth week of December 2025 aimed to prevent the manufacture, storage, transport, sale and use of identified single-use plastic items, in accordance with the applicable Government Orders and Plastic Waste Management Rules, the release said.
Regular inspections and surprise raids, held jointly with Local Bodies and other line departments, were being carried out with dedicated enforcement teams and Flying Squads at street vends, local shops, wholesale and retail markets, commercial establishments, hotels and restaurants, festival markets, transport hubs such as bus stands, railway stations and airports, plastic making industries and other crowded public locations, the release said.
Checks were also being done at interstate borders, along with the Police Department, during inspections, it said.
The TNPCB urged traders, manufacturers, vendors and commercial establishments to strictly comply with the ban on single-use plastics and adopt environmentally friendly alternatives.
Enforcement would continue across the State, the release said and sought the cooperation of the general public in ensuring effective implementation of the ban and the protection of the environment.