Switchover to non-plastic bags begins

Hyderabad: The good news first. A few supermarkets in the city have started packing items in covers made of paper. Now, the bad news: The majority are yet to warm up to the idea. A recee done by this reporter showed that many supermarkets and kirana stores in the city still dish out plastic covers. At a mall in Begumpet, paper covers are being used instead of plastic.

The paper covers are sold at Rs 5 and Rs 10. Many customers were seen carrying their own cloth or jute bags to the supermarkets. Supermarkets like Ratnadeep and Ushodaya are selling jute bags at a rate of Rs 23 to 30.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his address to the nation on August 15, 2019 expressed desire that on the 150th anniversary of the birth of Father of Nation Mahatma Gandhi, there would be a campaign to rid India of single-use plastics by 2022. However, the government backed out at the last minutes, perhaps keeping the unpreparedness of businesses to switch over to alternative items.

That said, many customers in the city are carrying their own cloth or jute bags to the supermarkets. Though some shops and supermarkets sell jute bags, the price is a deterrent factor at Rs 23-30. In contrast, normal plastic bags cost Rs 5 each. Kishore, store manager at Ratnadeep in AS Rao Nagar, said, "After the announcement of move to ban the single use plastic, many customers are bringing their own carry bags and the people.

However, we have not received any order from the higher authorities on the ban, so we are still offering customers big size plastic bags which cost Rs 5 each." "Cloth bags are reusable and can be used for other ways also. The price of this cloth bag is Rs 23. Once a customer purchases this bag, they do not have to carry any other plastic bags as it is an all-purpose bag.

This can also be used for buying vegetables or other products," added Kishore. Mounika, a customer, said, "Before the ban, these supermarkets were charging Rs 3 for medium-sized plastic bags if anyone wanted to buy them. Since it was a small amount, everyone was okay with the Rs 3 being added to their bill. But now they are charging Rs 10 for the bag. Since I have no means to take my groceries I had to buy this bag."

She further adds, "Charging Rs 25 for a jute bag is way too high to be charged by the supermarkets. These bags should be given at a lesser amount so that more of the customers feel to buy these bags rather than plastic bag." Anil, store manager at Spencer Super Market, said, "We use plastic bags with thickness of more than 50 microns." Meanwhile, many shops, mostly mom & pop stores and vendors, are found to still use plastic bags.