E-commerce firms adding to plastic menace: Activists

Bengaluru: Recently, an online petition requesting e-commerce sites to cut down on use of plastics for packaging went viral on social media.

Though the small-scale eateries and hawkers continue to use polybags, activists point out that Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) and e-commerce companies too were responsible for the vexed problem of plastic wastes. 

Mahesh Kashyap, a consultant with the IISs, said, “E-commerce companies should not use excessive plastic for the packaging. Disposing plastic waste properly should be made priority rather than throwing it around that ends up in drains or getting to the landfills.”

As per the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) data of 2016, the city generates 4000 MT of municipal solid waste, out of which 350-400 MT is plastic waste.

Certain well known eateries such as McDonald's, KFC and others had stopped using plastic straws a couple of years ago after the state introduced plastic ban in 2016.

Regarding the implementation of the plastic ban in the state, BBMP Joint Commissioner (Solid Waste Management) Sarfaraz Khan said, "We have conducted raids and ensured plastics are not used. Even the huge eateries have stopped using them. At present vendors, hawkers and a few eateries are using plastic. We also want to provide the hawkers and small vendors an alternative, which could also be economical for them." 

In 2017, when Koramangala got flooded during monsoon, BBMP Commissioner N. Manjunath Prasad had blamed e-commerce industries and malls for throwing thermocol and plastic wastes in the drains. A mall near the Sony junction was also fined in this regard.