Late last year, when the Government of Tamilnadu announced the ban on single-use plastics, it received widespread appreciation from all quarters.
Most of the people, shopkeepers and road-side vendors braced themselves for 1 January, the day from which the plastic usage has to be curbed. One month from then, most of the shops have strictly adhered to the rule and have started giving cloth bags and paper bags.
S Venkatesan, owner of Murugan departmental store at R A Puram, says, “We understood the ill-effects of using plastic bags and even before the government’s order we started giving cloth bags to customers. At that time we bought the cloth bags and charged Rs 5 for it. We even received flak from some customers due to this but after the ban many people have become aware and started to come shopping with their own bags and many people have also come forward to make cloth and paper bags and we are getting it from them at a cheaper rate.”
However, when News Today visited the Mada streets of Mylapore, some flower vendors say that they find it difficult to stop using plastic bags.
“As soon as we buy flowers from the market we sprinkle water on it and keep it in plastic covers so that it remains fresh. We found it difficult with cloth and paper bags as it becomes wet so we have gone back to using plastic bags. But we are using it only for our ourselves and for customers, we have started giving cloth bags,” says Sekar, a flower vendor.
Some edible items still come packed in polythene cover and Ezhilan, a shopkeeper in Mylapore, said, “As far as the ban is concerned it is only for the carry bags and I have decided to make my own paper bag and give it to customers. However I continue to pack the groundnuts, flattened rice and other products in polythene covers since there is no alternative. We are ready to curb that usage too if the government decides to ban it and come up with a suitable alternative.”
Some residents like VN Subramanian, however, feel that with the ban imposed on only one-time use plastics only 10 per cent of the problem is solved. “It is not that carry bag alone is plastic. Plastics have become an integral part of our life and still we are using 90 per cent of them in daily life. Just because of the ban currently, there won’t be a solution to this problem,” he said.
“A total plastic ban is not possible but single-use plastics can definitely be avoided. However, people must come forward to segregate the plastics that they use. If it is done then there won’t be any problem,” said Sreenivas, a member of RAPRA.