Monday Musings: Pune’s plastic ban; isn’t the glass half-full?

Although the plastic ban has failed in Pune, not everything has been lost. A large number of citizens have embraced the ban voluntarily while shopkeepers too, no longer give out plastic bags as liberally as they used to

Knowing how our politicians work— with vested interests overriding national interest— is it any surprise that the statewide plastic ban introduced by the Maharashtra government exactly one year ago, failed miserably yet again?

The conscientious, environmentally-conscious residents of Pune have embraced the cloth bag. They keep them handy in their cars and scooters and never go outside without their cloth bags. (HT/PHOTO)

The ban began on a sound note with a notification issued on March 23, 2018, accompanied with clear guidelines on what was allowed and what was not, and finally, it came into force from June 23, 2018.

The top bureaucrats and the lower bureaucracy then swung into action, confiscating banned plastic; imposing stiff fines on shopkeepers and roadside vendors and ensuring that thermocol and thin plastic bag production units were closed down.

Then came the run-up to the general elections and the punitive drive was quietly suspended. There were growing protests from traders and shopkeepers that they were being harassed and since the politicians couldn’t displease anyone just before the elections, the strict implementation of the ban stood conveniently forgotten by the government.

The good news, however, is that not everything was lost. Although the head of Pune Municipal Corporation’s (PMC) Solid Waste Management (SWM) department, Dnyaneshwar Molak has himself admitted to this paper that the ban failed, there have been some gains on the issue.

For one, by and large, shopkeepers and traders no longer give out the environmentally-destructive thin plastic bags (under 50 microns in thickness) as liberally as they used to in the past. This has forced most people to carry their own bags to the grocers- even if means carrying a largish plastic bag which will be recycled a few times at least. Then come the big grocery chains like Reliance Fresh, Dmart and others where they charge a stiff eight rupees or more per bag. Not wanting to pay that extra bit, most shoppers have been forced into bringing a couple of their own bags during their weekly shopping rounds.

Going beyond this are the conscientious, environmentally-conscious residents of Pune who have embraced the cloth bag. They keep them handy in their cars and scooters and never step outside their homes without their cloth bags. To the extent that a school teacher remarked to her student: “Your father is always seen with a cloth bag.” Indeed, children and adults in Pune have taken to cloth bags by the thousands- and this is not because of any government rule or regulation, but because they feel strongly about protecting the environment.

Still a step ahead are those Good Samaritans and citizen-activists such as this group from Baner-Pashan Link Road who are offering free use of steel plates, tumblers, bowls and spoons to encourage citizens from not using use-and-throw or disposable plastic plates. There are others who have taken to manufacturing and selling cloth and paper bags, providing employment to poor women who can work out of their homes.

All in all, one can see a public movement of environmentally-conscious citizens that is taking shape and gathering momentum. All of us can make a difference individually and collectively in our homes, offices and on the streets, thus making a real difference on the issue of plastic bags.

abhay.vaidya@hindustantimes.com