BIOLOGY
Plastic Menace is in its declined stage ----- Comment.
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Contribution of a Plastic Merchant in Bangalore in reducing the menace.
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Given a choice, Radha Rajesh will never use plastic. She always leaves home with a cloth bag in hand. The schoolteacher from Indiranagar is also a diligent waste segregator. But there are times when she makes exceptions: when she needs an extra bag and the vendor offers a plastic one or when waste piles up at her house (since it is collected only once every two days) and she is forced to use low-micron garbage bags to put them in. “I understand this is wrong. I’m still working on it,” says the 40-year-old.
The situation across Bengaluru is similar. In 2016, the state government imposed a blanket ban on manufacturing, storing, distributing and using singleuse plastics such as carry bags, flex banners, plates, cups and spoons. Robust community movements in HSR Layout and BTM Layout show how to be plastic-free. Many corporates and restaurants have opted for sustainable packaging options. The ban is, however, not completely effective due to many loose ends. For one, authorities themselves are not enforcing it with the vigour they showed initially. Second, policy-makers have failed to provide sustainable alternatives and raise community awareness.
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According to the official in charge of the city’s health and solid waste management, Sarfaraz Khan, the municipal authorities seized over 1,000 tonnes of plastic and levied penalties amounting to Rs 1.8 crore in 2016-17. In the past 10 months, penalties over Rs 1 crore were collected and approximately 600 tonnes of plastic seized.
“Plastic comprises about 20% of the total municipal solid waste of 4,000 tonnes a day. Our focus is to reduce that,” said the joint commissioner (health and solid waste management, BBMP), explaining that the ban should receive credit for drastically reducing plastic usage among various sections of society, particularly companies and restaurants. “We do not have the exact numbers but plastic waste reaching the landfills has reduced.”
Plastic manufacturers find various loopholes in Khan’s claims. According to them, ineffective implementation of waste segregation at source is the major problem. “Plastic can be handled if it is segregated and recycled properly,” said Vijay Kumar V, president, Karnataka State Plastic Association (KSPA). The plastic ban resulted in the shutting down of 750 manufacturing units and non-performing assets worth Rs 350 crore in Bengaluru, he said.
SUSTAINABLE BUSINESSES
On the brighter side, the ban in Bengaluru has given rise to businesses that provide sustainable substitutes to plastic. Their problem, however, is that of scaling up, thanks to lack of awareness and alternatives.
Samanvi Bhograj, whose company Earthware manufactures containers, tableware and cutlery out of bagesse and areca, said that even though their annual production has increased from 15 lakh to 20 lakh pieces, most of the business remains B2B. “We find that individual consumers are not signing up either because of the unwillingness to pay that extra 10% for the product or due to a lack of awareness about such alternatives,” says Bhograj.
Earthware’s clients include companies like Chai Point, Ibaco Icecreams, Hatti Kaapi, Anand Sweets, ESPN, Crown Plaza Hotels and Malabar Hotels. Providing subsidy or some incentive to businesses offering sustainable solutions would help reduce the cost of such products and give more traction to the plastic-free movement, Bhograj said.
Various community organisations have also taken it upon themselves to make people aware. The Rotary Bangalore Whitefield Centre (RBWC), for instance, will launch the ‘Championing Plastic-Free Whitefield’ campaign this weekend, where young adult volunteers encourage visitors at malls to opt for cloth bags. “We are collaborating with people who lead the plastic-free movement in HSR Layout and are planning to approach neighbouring schools and colleges,” said Manoj Kabre of the RBWC. “They will continue being part of the problem if they don’t find solutions.”
Sarfaraz Khan said that the BBMP is working towards awareness drives among target groups like street vendors, small-scale shopkeepers, Darshinis, marriage halls and caterers, where plastic usage is still high. “Enforcement of the ban is a small part. I believe that we are doing better than other cities and are putting down measures to curb even lowquality plastic coming into Karnataka from neighbouring states,” he said.
At the moment, however, two loose ends — consistency in enforcement and community awareness — require to be tied up. What’s more, the lack of viable and convenient alternatives appear to make a mockery of the ban. Riyaz, a vegetable vendor from Jyothi Nagar, summed up the predicament thus: “I know plastics are banned and it is not environment-friendly but it is also the most convenient. In any case, who is checking?”
The situation across Bengaluru is similar. In 2016, the state government imposed a blanket ban on manufacturing, storing, distributing and using singleuse plastics such as carry bags, flex banners, plates, cups and spoons. Robust community movements in HSR Layout and BTM Layout show how to be plastic-free. Many corporates and restaurants have opted for sustainable packaging options. The ban is, however, not completely effective due to many loose ends. For one, authorities themselves are not enforcing it with the vigour they showed initially. Second, policy-makers have failed to provide sustainable alternatives and raise community awareness.
DOING THE MATH
ADVERTISEMENT
According to the official in charge of the city’s health and solid waste management, Sarfaraz Khan, the municipal authorities seized over 1,000 tonnes of plastic and levied penalties amounting to Rs 1.8 crore in 2016-17. In the past 10 months, penalties over Rs 1 crore were collected and approximately 600 tonnes of plastic seized.
“Plastic comprises about 20% of the total municipal solid waste of 4,000 tonnes a day. Our focus is to reduce that,” said the joint commissioner (health and solid waste management, BBMP), explaining that the ban should receive credit for drastically reducing plastic usage among various sections of society, particularly companies and restaurants. “We do not have the exact numbers but plastic waste reaching the landfills has reduced.”
Plastic manufacturers find various loopholes in Khan’s claims. According to them, ineffective implementation of waste segregation at source is the major problem. “Plastic can be handled if it is segregated and recycled properly,” said Vijay Kumar V, president, Karnataka State Plastic Association (KSPA). The plastic ban resulted in the shutting down of 750 manufacturing units and non-performing assets worth Rs 350 crore in Bengaluru, he said.
SUSTAINABLE BUSINESSES
On the brighter side, the ban in Bengaluru has given rise to businesses that provide sustainable substitutes to plastic. Their problem, however, is that of scaling up, thanks to lack of awareness and alternatives.
Samanvi Bhograj, whose company Earthware manufactures containers, tableware and cutlery out of bagesse and areca, said that even though their annual production has increased from 15 lakh to 20 lakh pieces, most of the business remains B2B. “We find that individual consumers are not signing up either because of the unwillingness to pay that extra 10% for the product or due to a lack of awareness about such alternatives,” says Bhograj.
Earthware’s clients include companies like Chai Point, Ibaco Icecreams, Hatti Kaapi, Anand Sweets, ESPN, Crown Plaza Hotels and Malabar Hotels. Providing subsidy or some incentive to businesses offering sustainable solutions would help reduce the cost of such products and give more traction to the plastic-free movement, Bhograj said.
Various community organisations have also taken it upon themselves to make people aware. The Rotary Bangalore Whitefield Centre (RBWC), for instance, will launch the ‘Championing Plastic-Free Whitefield’ campaign this weekend, where young adult volunteers encourage visitors at malls to opt for cloth bags. “We are collaborating with people who lead the plastic-free movement in HSR Layout and are planning to approach neighbouring schools and colleges,” said Manoj Kabre of the RBWC. “They will continue being part of the problem if they don’t find solutions.”
Sarfaraz Khan said that the BBMP is working towards awareness drives among target groups like street vendors, small-scale shopkeepers, Darshinis, marriage halls and caterers, where plastic usage is still high. “Enforcement of the ban is a small part. I believe that we are doing better than other cities and are putting down measures to curb even lowquality plastic coming into Karnataka from neighbouring states,” he said.
At the moment, however, two loose ends — consistency in enforcement and community awareness — require to be tied up. What’s more, the lack of viable and convenient alternatives appear to make a mockery of the ban. Riyaz, a vegetable vendor from Jyothi Nagar, summed up the predicament thus: “I know plastics are banned and it is not environment-friendly but it is also the most convenient. In any case, who is checking?”
MidnightPlayz:
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Let us consider a merchant named Rajesh who sells fishes and chicken in the streets of Mumbai. He uses normal banned plastic carry bags to give his material. When asked he says that he is bound to buy those bags as it is a cheaper option than the rest and also it prevents the wetting of the bags as the things he sells can wet the bag. Thus the menence is described.
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