Andhra Pradesh   

Plastic bags popular despite ban

Indispensable: A tribal student uses a plastic bag for his books in Kolamguda hamlet of Adilabad district.

ADILABAD: The plastic carrier bag is perhaps the ultimate in terms of utility in one’s daily life. One such bag that apparently originated in distant Mumbai is being used to carry books by a tribal student of a primary school in the remote Arjuni-Kolamguda hamlet of Narnoor mandal of Adilabad district. Though the bag looks weather-beaten, it still retains its utility. This is precisely what makes the plastic bag indispensable despite the laws and regulations that govern its usage.

The ban on the use of plastic bags that have a thickness of less than 20 microns is observed more in breach. Vegetable markets, pan shops and small retail kirana shops are a few of the places where the use of carrier bags of the banned variety is rampant. “These days most of the customers demand carrier bags from us to carry vegetables. They obviously find it very convenient this way,” points out Ambubai who sells vegetables at the Rythu bazaar in Adilabad town.

“There is certainly a great demand for plastic bags among manufacturers as well as retailers. These bags in different shapes and sizes, have varied uses. For example, the bags used to package milk are thicker and those used to pack articles at the grocery are thinner.

The carrier bag is comparatively cheap which explains its extensive use,” explains a wholesale shop owner in town.

“No move except perhaps a ban on plastic bags will work. We keep observing drainages clogged with plastic bags of all descriptions. Animals are put to great risk when they ingest these bags,” opined B. Ramakanth, a well-known environmentalist.

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