Chennai: With just nine days left for the plastic ban to be implemented, a few commercial stores across the city have actively started looking for alternatives.
“The good thing the government did was informing us well in advance and giving us plenty of time to think about alternative products. Once the ban was announced, the other viable and eco-friendly, government-certified alternatives started showing up. It promoted the substitute industry indirectly,” said Palam Silks founder, Jeyasree Ravi.
“We are moving to paper and cloth bags that are 100 per cent bio-degradable effective 1 January 2019. We are so used to plastic bags but the bio-degradable that resembles plastic is environment-friendly,” added Jeyasree.
Restaurants and cafes in the city are one of the largest retailing spaces where the use of plastic is more. Amid the lot are a few places that have been consciously avoiding plastic since day one. One such restaurant is Pumpkin Tales that has been using eco-alternatives right from the beginning.
“Given the environmental impact plastic has, we have been deliberately using paper products that are not lined with plastic for takeaway packaging,” said restaurant co-founder Rajarajeshwari Ravi.
However, the restaurant uses plastic cutlery as the biodegradable kind are expensive – but it plans to make the shift soon.
Next to eateries are grocery marts that use plastic bags for everything. Here is Starstacks, a grocery store in Virugambakkam that has gone zero-waste literally.
“My experience in shipping industry taught me the importance of waste segregation, but flawed in implementation. When I was on the quest to find out where the problem starts, the grocery stores were found to be issuing plastic bags in large numbers, that led me start my own store. My customers walk in with their vessels or bags and I distribute in loose,” said founder Varun Chakravarthy.
The store also delivers cow’s milk in vessel / bottle deposited by his regular customers.
Proprietor of Uma Plastics, Jayanathan, also a member of The Tamilnadu Plastic Manufacturers’ Association, said, “We are suppliers to Aavin and being a supplier to the government-run unit, we expected some clarification from the government on the matter. However, there has not been any notice served to us until now.”
Jayanathan, who was the former committee member in the association, stated, “They (the government) said single-use plastic will be banned. So, what about milk packets? They are not banned. But they are use-and-throw items, right?” he asked.
“Plastic is used in sanitary pads, in surgery masks and in many essential items. There has not been any directive as to what will be the alternative to plastic,” said the Aavin supplier.
But aside from these heartwarming examples, there are hundreds of shops that still hand over grocery and other items in plastic bags.
(With inputs from Praveen Kumar S)