Maharashtra plastic ban: Mumbai civic body has miles to go for disposal of banned items

The BMC has hit initial hurdles: lack of awareness campaigns and partly or completely hidden collection bins

With only two months to go before the state implements the plastic ban, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) efforts to dissuade citizens from using the banned items have hit initial hurdles: lack of awareness campaigns and partly or completely hidden collection bins.

A collection bin for plastic items at Fashion Street in Mumbai . (Bhushan Koyande)

In a notification in March, the state banned use and sale of select plastic items. It gave citizens and manufacturers three months to dispose them.

As a first step to get rid of plastic, the BMC has placed close to 60 collection bins.

Black-gold bins have been put up at markets, segregation centres and ward offices. Citizens can dump banned plastic items in these bins in the next couple of months. When HT visited a few of these locations, the bins were found either empty or hidden. Some have not been placed at the said locations and others were filled with paper and cardboard waste instead.

Yogesh Nikam, shop owner at Hindmata market, said, “People are not aware of the collection centers. The bins should be placed prominently.” A market inspector at Dadar West municipal market said no plastic items had been dumped in the collection bin for the past eight days. “Nobody wants to walk all the way to trash just one or two plastic bags.” The corporation’s solid waste management department has now drawn up a strategy for collection centers and spreading awareness.

Civic officials said that 37 metric tonnes of plastic had been collected in the past 10 days. “The collected plastic will be handed over to the authorised agencies for recycling. However, there is a shortage of such organisations,” admitted an official.

Meanwhile, vendors and shop owners said lack of alternatives, unaffordability and loss in business were proving troublesome. While there is no viable alternative to items such as plastic straws and plastic sheets, some have switched to products made of betel-nut leaves and disposable cloth bags.

Prakash Sahane, a vegetable vendor, said he sometimes provided cloth bags free. Wahid Shaikh, who sells packaging products, said, “Nobody wants to buy alternative items for one-time use as they are expensive.”

To raise awareness, the BMC plans to conduct open exhibitions next month. Assistant municipal commissioner Kiran Dighavkar said advertisements at public places, short films and social media will also be used for campaigning.

Deputy municipal commissioner Nidhi Chaudhari said, “A detailed plan is being chalked out for awareness campaigns, and our staff will be trained for the same.”