Plastic ban: SUP still available in Delhi markets, traders awaiting alternatives

At the Karol Bagh market, multiple shops, include juice and lassi sellers were using plastic cups. While some said that paper cup are costlier than plastic ones, some others said they were phasing out the stock.

A day before a ban on 19 single-use plastic items was going to come into force, many of these items were still available in markets across the city most shopkeepers saying that the alternatives to the banned articles were in short supply. Most manufacturers were also yet to switch to production of the alternatives, and said that it will take time since the technology is costly.

While the government says a majority of the manufacturers of the banned SUP items have already switched to alternatives such as items made out of bamboo, jute, paper or wood, some producers said they were still looking to set up new machines. (Sunil Ghosh /HT)

HT visited various markets on Wednesday to check the preparations a day ahead of the ban deadline..

At the Karol Bagh market, multiple shops, include juice and lassi sellers were using plastic cups. While some said that paper cup are costlier than plastic ones, some others said they were phasing out the stock.

Mukesh Pandey, who runs the Punjab Sweet Corner at Karol Bagh, said they were still awaiting instructions on which items are being completely banned. “We haven’t seen any government officials visit us and I only read about the ban. We are now looking to replace a majority of our plastic based items, such as plastic containers for takeaway and plastic cups in which we were serving lassi. The will arrive soon,” he said.

Kush Chetal, who runs Punjab Stores in the same market, said earbuds were one item with a particularly low supply at the moment because most manufacturers were yet to shift to making alternatives. “We are still awaiting earbuds made out of bamboo or wooden sticks. Currently, we have only one box of earbuds that is non-plastic,” he said, stating sellers were willing to switch, but need a robust supply chain.

At the Lajpat Nagar Central market, plastic cutlery was still available at the eateries. Shopkeepers said the government should ensure that alternatives are as cheap as plastic items. “There have been bans in the past too, but we have seen implementation fizzle out within a few weeks. A plastic cup is available at half the price of a paper cup,” said a local fresh juice seller, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Sanjiv Mehra, president of the Khan Market Traders’ Association, said there has been no shortage in terms of awareness drives held by the state, the Centre and the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC), but shopkeepers were still struggling to procure alternative items in substantial quantity. “Most shopkeepers are aware of the items that are banned, but there is a supply gap at the moment. For instance, wooden cutlery was coming from China earlier and India is not manufacturing it at that scale. We need to address this problem quickly, so the consumers do not suffer,” he said.

Manufacturing transition yet to happen

While the government says a majority of the manufacturers of the banned SUP items have already switched to alternatives such as items made out of bamboo, jute, paper or wood, some producers said they were still looking to set up new machines.

Dinesh Bharti, owner of Disha Technologies that manufactures plastic cutlery in the Mundka industrial area ,said he may have to shut down his business on July 1. “I have been in the business for 24 years and I had done a plastic engineering course. So, for people like us, switching all of a sudden is not easy. Replacing the machinery requires significant expenditure,” Bharti said. He added that a number of SUP items could be recycled, if the government had devised a mechanism for it to be collected.

Suraj, who is a distributer of cutlery, said plastic items were cheaper by ₹10-20 paise per piece, thereby attracting a greater demand. “We have stopped distributing plastic items and have wooden and bamboo-based stock, but there are many who are finding it difficult to establish a supply chain from scratch,” he said.

Vijay Kumar Arya, who runs a plastic-based packaging factory in Bawana, said most SUP manufacturers are likely to take time to switch to alternatives as setting up the infrastructure takes time.

“Supply of the alternative items is around 25% of the plastic items that will be banned from Friday. Paper has become extremely costly and procuring bamboo at that scale is also not feasible. The government needs to provide more alternatives,” he said.