Soon, go green when shopping

You are eco-conscious and want to reduce your carbon-footprint, but find it pretty inconvenient to carry a bag when you go shopping. So, you end up bringing home all your purchases in plastic bags, reports Manoj Sharma.

You are eco-conscious and want to reduce your carbon-footprint, but find it pretty inconvenient to carry a bag when you go shopping. So, you end up bringing home all your purchases in plastic bags.

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But now you run the risk of a jail term or fine or both as the Delhi government recently notified a ban on “use, storage and sale” of plastic bags under Environment Protection Act. But do not worry. Soon you could have an eco-friendly and cost-free solution.

People’s Action, a city-based advocacy group, on Monday unveiled a proposal called E-Bags Exchange, a scheme under which it will provide retailers eco-friendly bags free of cost.

The retailers can sell these cloth bags — available for Rs 5, 10, 15, 20, depending on the size — to customers who can return these bags and get a refund whenever they want.

“The project takes into account practical difficulties of environment. Retailers whom we plan to sign up as partners will offer their customers a pay back guarantee,” said Sanjay Kaul, president of People's Action.

The group has already filed a patent for the process based on circulation methodology. These E-bags (exchange bags) can be identified with a bar-coded tag stitched to them.

The group is in talks with Mother Dairy, Big Bazaar, Subhiksha and other retailers in this regard. People’s Action also plans to rope in resident welfare associations (RWAs) with a view to popularising the scheme with residents and local retailers. “We will closely work with RWAs to encourage residents to use these bags,” said Atul Goel, president of United RWAs Joint Action (URJA).

The group also plans to outsource the making of these bags to the families of Blueline bus victims and women of JJ clusters.