Banned plastic bags back in use

Hyderabad: The banned plastic bags of less than 50 microns thickness which are not recyclable are still found in weekly bazaars and used for packing of non-vegetarian foods like fish.

Despite a ban on plastic on October 2, the use of plastic bags still remains high. At first look, the weekly markets are seen not selling any plastic bags, but later, they were found providing plastic bags to customers when they purchased 250 gm of vegetables as minimum quantity.

"Many customers ask for plastic bags, refusing them affects our sales. However, we provide bags only when customers purchase vegetables of more than a quarter or half kg," said G Sai, a vegetable vendor, at Friday weekly market at Sainathpuram.

Another street vendor, Laxmi Devi, who sells vegetable in Wednesday weekly market at Yapral High-Tension Road, said, "There are many people who come on their two-wheelers and stand in front of our stall and buy vegetables. They ask for plastic bags saying how can we carry the goods to home." She further added, "Since there is no alternative to plastic bags being used in weekly markets, we are using it."

Ali, a volunteer of 'Green Peace' NGO, said, "Polythene bags with less than 50 microns are back in full force. Their circulation might have stopped in shopping malls and big retail outlets, but vendors and local shops are still using these bags. This shows that there is still no serious implementation of the ban not only on sellers but also buyers"

Meanwhile, the GHMC has put signs outside mutton and chicken shops urging customers to use steel boxes but there are few takers. Vendors say they can't refuse plastic bags and risk losing customers.