Hyderabad citizens welcome single-use plastic ban

They also call for strict implementation of rules at grassroots level

Hyderabad: Citizens and environmentalists in the city have welcomed with open arms the Centre’s move to ban single-use plastic from July next year. However given the dependency of people on plastic, they also have several questions regarding the impact of the move.

The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change had on Thursday released a draft gazette notification that announced the ban on several single-use plastic items including earbuds with plastic stick, candy stick, ice-cream stick, polystyrene [thermo-col] for decoration, cutlery, wrapping or packaging films around sweet boxes, invitation cards, and cigarette packets, plastic or PVC banners less than 100 micron and stirrers, with effect from July 1, 2022.

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As per the notification, from September 30, this year, polythene bags under 75 microns will not be allowed, whereas polythene bags under 120 microns will be banned from December 31 next year.

“Finally, someone has taken a step to tackle this huge problem,” says environmentalist BV Subba Rao. However, he points out that putting out a notification will not solve the issue and adds that policy makers and bureaucrats will have to see it is implemented at the grass-root level.

Founder, The Rainwater Project, Kalpana Ramesh describes plastic as the most common pollutant in lakes.

“In fact, it is killing our water bodies, not just above the ground level, but below the ground level as well,” she says. Kalpana stresses the importance of creating awareness among people on what plastic does to nature. “We all complain about the government not cleaning the water bodies, but it is us who have thrown our garbage into it in the first place,” she adds.

Fashion designer Shravan Kumar has for years been trying to reduce the use of plastic not just at home but even for his brand. “And so, this notification is very welcome,” he says. Vishala Reddy, Founder, Millet Bank, explains that single use plastic not only affects environment but living beings too. “Animals and birds get choked and die of starvation or entanglement. So it is a welcome move. But as a businesswoman, I found it hard to find a sustainable packaging material for my products in Millet Bank,” she says.

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