Delhi’s Select City Walk is city’s first plastic-free mall

Stepping up its campaign to make the city plastic-free, the South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) on Saturday carried out a drive to stop the use of plastic in five prominent markets.

Officials said Delhi’s popular Select City Walk Mall will become the first mall in the city be plastic free, which means the shop owners will not provide plastic bags to any of their customers. The south corporation also said that SDA market in Hauz Khas will be plastic-free. The SDMC officials said that 23 shops and eateries have agreed to stop usage of at least 10 kilos of plastic per day at SDA market.

Meanwhile, in west zone of south corporation, three vegetable and fruit markets — located at D-block Hari Nagar, under Janak Setu flyover at Nangal Raya, and that near Veer Savarkar Park at Punjabi Bagh — will be plastic-free. Collectively 90 vendors, who otherwise had been using approximately 11,000 plastic bags per day, have decided to give up plastic.

A senior official of the south corporation said that the moves will prevent usage of around 100 kilos of plastic per day and take out of use more than 36,500 kilos of plastic in one year.

“Around 170 showrooms and 30 eateries in Select City Walk mall on Saturday decided not to use at least 100 kilos of plastic on daily basis. It has become the first mall in the city to shun plastic. The mall also signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the SDMC to make anti-plastic movement a success. Under this MoU, the mall will launch an awareness program in District Centre Saket, nearby markets and kiosks. The mall will also distribute bags made of jute and clothes,” the official said.

South Delhi MP Ramesh Bidhuri, who was present at the signing of MoU, said that it has become imperative to ban single use plastic in Delhi for ensuring a better future .

“The indiscriminate use of plastic has been resulting in the outbreak of fatal diseases and plastic left over have been creating obstacles in the smooth flow of water and sewer. If we succeed in enforcing the ban, 70% plastic pollution can be reduced in Delhi,” Bidhuri said.

SDMC mayor Sunita Kangra that plastic, including bottles and plastic generated from packed food material, would be given to Chintan Environo Research group, which hands over all plastic waste to Al Mehtab industries, which is the authorised recycler of plastic waste by pollution control board.

Earlier, west zone had declared one vegetable and fruit market at Tagore Garden as plastic-free.