Plastic bags back in Bengaluru despite ban

Bengaluru: A year after the state government banned plastic bags, cups and plates, the ubiquitous plastic has made a triumphant comeback. Soon after the ban was introduced on March 11, 2016, plastic carry bags vanished from shops. Bengalureans even made a habit of carrying cloth bags to bring vegetables home, while the BBMP cracked down on plastic bag manufacturers.

But slowly and surely, plastic has proved that it is immune to such bans. Shop owners are now blatantly offering carry bags made of plastic. “The ban is not being enforced. For the first few months, storeowners were scared of the penalties and stopped offering plastic carry bags. But they have made a big comeback,” says Ms Aruna, a homemaker in Ramamurthynagar.

She has mixed feelings about it. “We know that plastic is bad for the environment, but paper bags or even plastic bags made to look like cloth are not the answer. We had a big problem disposing of garbage. With no plastic bags, we used to dump kitchen waste in plastic buckets. But the garbage people refused to take the buckets. In any case, using plain buckets to dump garbage was messy,” she says.

In the first few months after the ban, storeowners advised customers to bring their own bags, while some offered white plastic bags that had a faux cloth feel, but plastic nevertheless, for a price. First to break the rule were liquor outlets. They never stopped offering bottles tucked in telltale black plastic bags.

“We were also worried in the beginning that we would be fined. But later we realised that nobody was bothered,” says Nagaraj, who manages the counter at a liquor vend in OMBR Layout.

Rajesh, who was buying a half a kilo of sugar at a kirana store, says, “We can’t do without plastic bags. I think the ban was not well thought out.” But isn’t plastic bad for environment? “Maybe, but till we have a safer alternative that has all the advantages of a plastic bag, why ban it,” he questions. The kirana storekeeper cracks into a smile and says, “Do you expect a customer to pay Rs 5 for a cloth bag while a plastic cover comes for free?”

BBMP Joint Commissioner (Health/Solid Waste Management) Sarfaraz Khan says the BBMP is doing all it could. “People should take the initiative and stop asking for plastic bags. We have been conducting regular raids like the one in Bommanhalli recently. We are also campaigning and educating people to stop using plastic bags,” he says.

He says, “The number of raids may have come down now, but we will intensify them in coming months. The plastic bags are coming from places like Gujarat as the BBMP is actively shutting down units manufacturing plastic bags in the city.”