Thiruvananthapuram: The city corporation has introduced a provision for the shopkeepers to sell their unused stock of plastic carry bags at Rs 15 per kg. This is part of the regular collection drive to be held on Saturday. The civic body, which has been conducting raids and imposing fines on shopkeepers for stocking plastic bags, is now ready to pay so that they can get rid of the stock. It is reckoned that the initiative will encourage small-time shopkeepers.
Once the bylaw related to plastic waste management comes into effect, hefty fines await them. It is Rs 5,000 for stocking it, and repeat offenders will have to pay Rs 10,000. The points where plastic will be collected from 8 am to 12 noon on July 15 are: Putharikandam grounds; near MG College, Kesavadasapuram; near Karamana Bridge; Pipinmoodu Junction, Sasthamangalam; Technopark; Chakkai HI Office and near Sreekaryam Market.
The staff at a leading retail store from which plastic bags were seized a few times said that they will not take part in the initiative as they have very little stock left. Plastic bags are still in currency despite the ban which came into force in March, according to Anilkumar Chirayil, secretary, Nalanchira unit, Kerala Vyapari Vyavasayi Ekopana Samithi. “Go to any market, and you will find plastic carry bags. People buy from wholesale markets. They also get it from salespeople who, I hear, deliver at their doorstep,” he says.
The unit had started a few initiatives a month ago in support of the ban, but if cloth or paper bags were available, it would have been more effective, according to Anilkumar. “Alternatives are not easily available. A number of shopkeepers have told me that they are only waiting for eco-friendly bags to be available. Now the bags that are used in our store have been stitched by my wife,” he says.
