Hyderabad: From retail stores to malls plastic bags are sold to consumers ever since the Plastic Waste Management Rules, 2011, came into effect. This was intended to curb plastic consumption.
The new law which came into effect in March has tough conditions, which remain unimplemented. The new law has made it mandatory for retailers selling plastic bags to first register with the local body, that is GHMC.
However, registrations of carry bag selling retailers are not being done. Not just this, a minimum of Rs 4,000 a month has to be charged from shops by the local authority in the form of Plastic Waste Management Fee and this fcan be increased depending on the size of business. The rules make it mandatory that the money received by retailers through sale of bags should be given to the local body.
which should use it "exclusively" for maintaining the waste management system.
The new rules also make it mandatory for sellers of plastic carry bags to sell only those bags which have a label that informs people about the name and registration number of the manufacturer and thickness of the bag. Those who do not sell such carry bags must be penalized.
All these rules are put in place to increase the cost of plastic bags on retailers as well as customers so that usage decreases. However, with no mechanism in place for effective implementation of these laws the plastic bags continue to be sold at the same price in Hyderabad by retailers, ranging between Rs 2-10 depending on size as it was before the new law came into effect.
