The Kerala High Court Today (June 17) ordered a total ban on single-use plastic in hill tourist areas and restricted plastic use in weddings and official functions starting Gandhi Jayanti, October 2, 2025.
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Kochi: The Kerala High Court today ordered that single-use plastic must be banned in all hilly tourist spots and plastic bottles must be limited during large public gatherings. This rule will start from October 2, 2025, which is also Gandhi Jayanthi.
The Court has given time to the Kerala government to get ready and take all the needed steps for this ban.
The order was passed by a Division Bench of Justice Bechu Kurian Thomas and Justice P. Gopinath, who made it clear that this is important to stop plastic waste from spoiling beautiful hill areas visited by many tourists.
The Court clearly said:
“Use and sale of single-use plastics including plastic food containers, plastic plates, plastic cups, plastic straws, plastic sachets, plastic bakery boxes are hereby banned in the hilly tourist areas of the State that are specified in the table in the order, i.e. those hilly destinations with high footfall. This ban shall not apply to 5 L plastic water bottles and 2 L plastic soft drink bottles.”
So, plastic bottles under 5 litres for water and under 2 litres for soft drinks are banned, but 5-litre water bottles and 2-litre soft drink bottles are allowed.
This decision is part of a suo motu case taken up by the High Court on its own, mainly to solve the problem of plastic waste in tourist-heavy regions.
Here are the important directions from the Court:
- Single-use plastic items like food containers, cups, straws, sachets, and bakery boxes are banned in hilly tourist places.
- Water bottles below 5 litres and soft drink bottles below 2 litres are banned in all Central and State government events.
- The same ban will apply at weddings, hotels, restaurants, auditoriums, and similar venues. These rules will be made part of the licence conditions of such places.
- District collectors and local bodies must set up water kiosks and make available eco-friendly bottles like glass and copper ones in hilly areas, so tourists can use them.
- Tourists must be stopped from bringing single-use plastic to such hill stations and should be encouraged to carry reusable water bottles.
- The State and local bodies must ensure no plastic waste is dumped in rivers, canals, and backwaters, and regular cleaning must be done.
- The government should run awareness campaigns in newspapers and TV about the dangers of single-use plastic and promote better alternatives.
- The Plastic Waste Management Rules and other environment laws must be strictly followed throughout Kerala.
The Court also gave a strong message, saying every person has the right to live in a clean environment, and everyone must take care of nature and stop polluting it.
Earlier, the Bench had already said it is time to ban single-use plastic in hill stations, as these beautiful places are slowly turning into plastic dump yards because of the increasing number of tourists.
To make sure these rules are properly followed, the Court told the Chief Secretary and the Special Secretary of the Local Self Government Department to take charge of the plastic ban. They must work closely with the local self-governments, Pollution Control Board, and even the State Police.
In Court, Special Government Pleader Unnikrishnan represented the State, Standing Counsel Janardhana Shenoy represented Cochin Corporation, and Standing Counsel Suman Chakravarthi appeared for Thiruvananthapuram Corporation.
Also, Anupama TV (IAS), who is the Special Secretary of the Local Self Government Department, appeared via video conference during the hearing.
CASE TITLE:
Suo Motu v State of Kerala.
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