Plastic deposit machines remain non-functional since 2019 even as Gurugram works towards eliminating plastic

Two plastic and polythene deposit machines, set up to offer mobile recharge coupons and jute bags in exchange for plastic bottles and polythene bags, remain non-functional since a week of their launch in 2019, even as the Municipal Corporation of Gurugram’s (MCG) pushes to make Gurugram a polythene-free city

Two plastic and polythene deposit machines, set up to offer mobile recharge coupons and jute bags in exchange for plastic bottles and polythene bags, remain non-functional since a week of their launch in 2019, even as the Municipal Corporation of Gurugram’s (MCG) pushes to make Gurugram a polythene-free city.

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A senior MCG official familiar with the matter said that they found plastic bottles filled with water and polythene bags containing items. “Outside the machine, we had written that only empty bottles and polythene bags needed to be inserted. It seems the public did not understand this concept, and hence, we have not revived the machines ever since,” said the official.

The machines were launched in October 2019 at platform numbers 1 and 3 of the railway station in collaboration with an Indian multinational company. This was the first major step taken by the MCG, since its formation in 2008, towards reducing plastic use in the city.

However, within a week since their launch, the machines malfunctioned and have not been revived since. “The machines were operational for less than a week. Miscreants had tried to insert stones and other types of objects, hoping to get coupons or jute bags free of cost. We also found lots of mud and heavy debris inside the machine when we opened them for inspection after receiving a complaint that they had stopped working,” the senior official cited above said.

In the last six months, the MCG has carried out a major push to make the city plastic and polythene-free.

The MCG has been working towards making four markets, Vyapar Kendra in Sushant Lok-1, Sector 46 market, Sector 4 market and Sector 23 market free of single-use plastic and polythene since last December.

On February 27, the MCG banned the use of various types of plastic and polythene under the Haryana Non-Biodegradable garbage (Control) Act, 1988, setting up penalties up to ₹25,000.

To supplement alternatives, the MCG launched opened a cloth bag bank in the Nai Basti area of Sector 8 last December and a steel utensil bank in Sector 10 earlier this month.

“I am not aware of the plastic and polythene (reverse) vending machines at the railway station as these were opened before I was deputed in the city. However, the MCG is working on a similar project where such vending machines will be placed at various public places across the city, as part of our ongoing efforts to eradicate plastic and polythene,” said Dheeraj Kumar, joint commissioner, Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM), MCG.

Kumar said that the matter is still under consideration and the MCG is currently engaged in its research and development.