Bhubaneswar: The state capital is all set to say ‘No’ to items made of plastic as the government ban on these in six cities kicks in Tuesday.
The transition from the ubiquitous ‘carry bags’ – particularly in the marketplace – to their alternative is not expected to pose any major problem as environment-friendly substitutes are already in place.
Bikram Panigrahi, a grocery retailer at Rasulgarh said he was all for the ban and that there would be little problem for traders or customers because of it.
“Substitutes for plastic bags are already available in the market. The ‘thread bag’ is user-friendly, easy to carry and affordable,” he said.
Echoing Panigrahi, Harihar Khuntia, a vegetable vendor, insisted plastic should be done away with. “We will certainly no longer entertain plastic from our side. Normally people who come to buy vegetables carry bags of their own,” he said.
Mihir Kumar, owner of a fast food owner said he would have go for aluminum foil more. “We will have no other choice but to increase the use of aluminum foil. The carry bags used in malls are not banned and the market has already started producing the smaller version of such bags. So I see no problem in the switch-over,” he said.
Sujata Biswal, a stationary shop owner, sees a silver lining for herself as the state looked ahead at what could be a game changer in matters of environment. “Carry bags of four different sizes are available in the market. We would charge Rs 3 extra for people wanting carry bags. This way we also make some money by selling bags with products. I would say, it’s a win win situation for us,” she said.
Environmentalists, expectedly, are a happy lot.
One of them, Suvendu Nayak, said banning plastic was a noble initiative by the state government and that people should extend all cooperation to make it a success. “Plastic can’t be banned in a day. The process would take some time but the ban in production is the best way to abate the general use. It’s high time people understand that climate change is real and we should practise our moral obligation towards environment by lessening the use of plastic as of now,” he said.
The Forest and Environment Department notified, “No person can sell, trade, manufacture, import, store, carry, transport, use or distribute polythene and single-use plastic.”
Littering of plastic items in public places is also barred in the city. The authorities and owners of various places have been given the responsibility for ensuring strict compliance of the orders.
WHAT’S TRASHED
-Polythene carry bags less than 50 micron thickness of any shape, thickness and size (excluding compostable) for storing, transporting, packing or dispensing.
-Bottled drinking water in polythene terephthalate bottles of less than 200ml capacity.
-Single use of disposable cutleries made up of thermocol (polystyrene), polyurethane.
-Plastic such as dish, spoon, straw, cup, plate, glass, fork, pouch to store liquid and container of any shape and size except for packing and sale of milk and other ancillary milk products.
-Thermocol decorative materials like flowers.
WHAT’S ALLOWED
- Plastics for carrying and transporting garbage and cointainers like cup for milk products including curd and ice-cream.
- Polythene packing materials used in plant nurseries, horticulture, agriculture and health sectors like medicines, blood transportation bags, syringe, specimen bag, resalable bags.
- Packing materials used for wrapping of any items at manufacturing stage have been exempted from the restriction.
Dipti Ranjan Das
