Is it any wonder that the BBMP is not taken seriously when it fails to not just follow through on its promises, but also on measures intended to save the city’s environment? It was in March last year that it introduced a ban on sale of plastic bags below 40 microns in the city with a great show of seriousness. And the first few weeks after the ban did see shopkeepers trying to fall in line, with some even putting up boards asking shoppers to bring their own carry bags. But as the months went by and the BBMP seemed to forget its own ban, they returned to their old ways and began selling the plastic bags freely across the counter, confident they had nothing to fear from the civic authority which was living up to its ineffectual reputation once again.
But undeterred, the BBMP went a step further in August this year and passed a resolution for a blanket ban on use of all plastic bags in Bengaluru, much to the disbelief of observers who were left wondering how it would find the will to enforce this, when it had failed to make sure that bags below 40 microns were not used in shops. But BBMP commissioner, Rajneesh Goel seems confident that the ban will work this time. BBMP health officials are on the job and are seizing plastic bags wherever they find them in use, he says. “The BBMP is also trying to post officials at the check posts to curb the flow of plastic bags into the city from other states,” he adds.
Chairman of the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) A.S. Sadashivaiah too insists that it is possible to stop manufacture of plastic bags. “We have already ordered the closure of three such units so far,” he says, however, hastening to add that the board can only prosecute or shut down manufacturing units and it is left to the BBMP to penalise retailers selling polythene bags, making use of the provisions of the Karnataka Municipal Council (KMC) Act 1976. “We find it hard to deal with the many manufacturing units that thrive in residential areas,” he says.
But president of the Citizens’ Action Forum (CAF) N.S. Mukunda is sceptical abut the intentions of the BBMP, as he feels its officers are hand in glove with plastic manufacturing units. “The BBMP has a wide network of officials and can tackle anything if they all work sincerely,” he believes.
‘Complete ban will take time to work’
The menace of plastic bags was never as apparent as it was during the recent garbage crisis in the city. They were everywhere you looked, carried by the wind into storm water drains and street corners. While they were clearly an eyesore, what was not apparent to most was how terribly harmful they were to the environment too, being immune to biodegradation. Saying no to plastic cannot be difficult as in the past nearly everyone used paper or cloth bags for shopping, say environmentalists, pleading that its time to return to the good old ways. Dr Y.B. Ramakrishna, chairman of the State Bio Diesel Task Force, says technologies are available today for using starch extracted from natural seeds to make carry bags that are degradable in nature.
“A few years ago a Bengaluru firm contacted us for help in removing the oil content of tamarind seeds and using the starch to make carry bags. Even during bio- fuel production you get de-oiled cakes that can be used to make plastic-like carry bags,” he explains. Others feel that the self- help groups and women enterpreneurs, who manufacture paper and cloth bags in large numbers for a few corporate houses, should be encouraged to increase their supply. “If more of these bags are made available, people will shift to what is good for the environment. A few years ago most marriage halls used a thin plastic sheet to cover their dining tables, but today this has been replaced with recycled paper,” points out an expert.
Noted environmentalist, Suresh Heblikar, however, feels the ban on plastic can be imposed only in phases. “Be it for a Ganesh idol or your daily bread, thin plastic has become a part of our lives. It will be impossible to completely ban it. What the government can do is create plastic-free zones and ban carry bags and other kinds of plastic in these areas in a phased manner. The plastic that has higher micron content can be recycled,” he suggests.