Kerala - Kozhikode   

Ban on plastic bags from today

Biju Govind

Action against manufacture or sale

Kozhikode: The ban on plastic carrybags below thickness of 30 microns will be enforced in the city from Monday.

Mayor M. Bhaskaran told The Hindu here that legal action would be taken against persons manufacturing, selling and distributing carrybags below the thickness of 30 microns. Penality will be levied from shopkeepers and the public using thin carry bags.

Civic authorities have already conducted campaigns in educational institutions and at the ward-level against using plastic carrybags. The district administration will hold a `proclamation rally' from the Corporation Office to the Town Hall on Monday.

As part of the model solid waste management programme, the City Corporation had enforced a ban on plastic materials below thickness of 20 microns from August 1, 2006. However, shopkeepers continued to use the banned variety. The Mayor said strict enforcement of the ban on carrybags below thickness of 30 microns would deter people from using plastic bags for domestic purposes. Corporation officials say the Aryadathupalma Bypass stretch in the city has become a place for vehicles to unload waste materials stored in plastic carry bags. This practice happens in the night, officials say.

In the initial stages of the ban last year, officials seized plastic carry-bags, bottles and cups that did not meet the set standard from wholesale and retail manufacturers and traders. Fine was levied on the spot from people violating the ban. Ten squads comprising the Corporation, Police, Revenue, Sales Tax and Health Department officials were formed to monitor enforcement of the ban.

However, the crackdown on plastic carrybags lost steam after a few weeks. The Corporation entrusted Kudumbasree volunteers with the task of collecting biodegradable waste materials and plastic wastes separately from households. The system is yet to be implemented in full swing. At many places, the people do not cooperate with the Kudumbasree volunteers engaged in the door-to-door collection of garbage.

Waste materials are usually collected from households in plastic bags. A private entrepreneur was entrusted with the task of collecting the plastic bags that Kudumbasree volunteers collected form households. However, this project also did not take off successfully.

Corporation officials said the unregulated use of plastic carry-bags and bottles and dumping these into drains were the main reasons for clogging of drains and water logging in the city during the monsoon.

An order prohibiting the use of carry bags or containers made of recycled plastics of thickness less than 20 microns for storing, carrying, dispensing or packing foodstuff in the city was issued five years ago. But it was not implemented. Three years later, when the Corporation attempted to declare the city as a litter-free, the ban on plastic bags was also not properly enforced.

Last year, the Corporation was forced to implement the ban on plastic carrybags after the door-to-door collection of garbage system got paralysed in the city.

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