Full stop for over 100 plastic bag factories

Over 100 plastic bag manufacturing factories in Delhi may have to shut shop, following the government’s decision to ban the manufacture of plastic bags.

Over 100 plastic bag manufacturing factories in Delhi may have to shut shop, following the government’s decision to ban the manufacture of plastic bags.

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Peeved with a failed campaign to stop the use of plastic bags, the government has now decided to go after the source: manufacturers. Around 94 factories are located in industrial areas, while a large number of units are operating from non-conforming areas in small scale. Factory owners claim they supply bags to states where there is no ban, but the government disagrees. “These units have been feeding the supply chain so efficiently that it was undermining our enforcement,” said Delhi environment secretary Dharmendra.

The All India Plastic Industries Association (AIPIA) says the shutting of the units would mean a closure of businesses worth R 700 crore per year. “The problem is disposal, not bags,” said Ravi K Aggarwal, AIPIA president.