Corp clueless on plastic bags

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The city corporation is yet to act on the new directive issued by Local Self Government Department secretary, Rajesh Kumar Singh, to fix the minimum price of plastic carry bags.

As per the directive issued on March 3, the municipalities and corporations have been empowered to fix the price of plastic carry bags.

The circular has also banned selling bags free of cost and for lesser price. Despite setting the date for implementing the new directive as April 1, the civic body authorities claimed that they were not informed.

“We are yet to receive any order to this effect. However, the corporation will soon initiate steps to fix the minimum price of plastic carry bags,” said T.K. Ashraf, chairman of health standing committee.
Once the norms are enforced, shop owners in the city would be required to sell carry bags for the minimum amount fixed by the local body.

The LSGD secretary has also banned sale of plastic carry bags under 40 microns thickness.
Strict action would be taken against the secretaries of local bodies which violated the directive.
While most municipalities and corporations in the state are planning a huge hike in the price of plastic bags, the city corporation is still clueless on how to go about it.

Thiruvananthapuram Corporation has already taken steps to hike the price in the range of Rs 8 to Rs 15 a piece.

However, the Kollam corporation plans to bring in a hike as high as Rs 12 to Rs 30 a piece.

Alternatives to plastic remain a challenge

The issue of going green is becoming popular and a large number of people are willing to shift to biodegradable eco-friendly packing materials. People are aware of the bad effects of plastic to the environment and want to turn to paper, cloth and other packing materials. However, non-availability of alternatives in the market is a major problem.

More than 30 Kudumbasree units in the district are making paper bags. However, most of these units are neglected because of increased manufacturing cost. “If there is increased demand, the bag units can be revived which will be a great support for a large number of women in the district. Now, due to the disparity between the market price and manufacturing cost of the bags, many units are reluctant to take orders,” said sources at the Kudumbasree Mission district office.

Several NGOs and self-help groups across the state are producing paper bags and cloth bags made of various natural fibres. But these products struggle to find a proper market and the rising raw material cost also is a problem. The organisations demand governmental and social support to manufacture and market sustainable carry bags to substitute plastic ones.

“Instead of supporting the ubiquitous plastic bags, the government should promote traditional packing materials like cloth, jute, bamboo, reed and natural fibre which will help to improve the livelihood of the marginal and low income group,” said Mr Jacob Lasar, a green activist.