Siddipet struggles to curb plastic usage, high volumes found despite strict ban

With the directions of officials, the Civic authorities had strictly implemented the ban on use of the plastic in the town.

Siddipet: Despite strong measures by Siddipet civic authorities, the amount of plastic reaching out to the dump yard indicates that the use of plastic was still very high among the households in Siddipet town.

With the directions of officials, the Civic authorities had strictly implemented the ban on use of the plastic in the town. For the last four months beginning in September, the garbage collectors in Siddipet have been collecting dry and wet, including harmful, waste on alternative days during the week.

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During these four months, the dump yard located at Bussapur got 3,700 quintals of dry waste from Siddipet. Shockingly, the dump yard staff found 1,702 quintals of plastic in it apart from another 50 quintals of milk packets. The 1,702 quintals of plastic reached the dump yard, just a share of what the citizens were using in their day-to-day lives.

There were plastic covers, packets, and other plastic materials dumped everywhere along the ring road and empty places in the town. Haritha Haram Officer of Siddipet Municipality Samala Ilaiah has said that they had initiated strict measures following the suggestions of Former Minister T Harish Rao, but still, many traders in the town were using the plastic.

He has said that small traders like vendors selling roadside snacks, tiffin centres, curry points, and hotels were using plastic. Ilaiah has said that they were dumping the used plastic during the night to avoid the officials. However, Ilaiah has said that they were initiating strict measures by imposing fines on them by carrying out regular inspections.

Though there was a strict ban on the use of below 50 microns of plastic according to the Plastic Waste Management Act, of 2016, a good amount of plastic used in the town is below 50 microns.