Municipal authorities are finding it difficult to implement the ban on plastic carry bags of thickness less than 50 microns in Thripunithura. They say a better response from merchants and residents too is needed to make it a success.
While the merchants in the town had in principle agreed to stop using plastic carry bags below 50 microns, the municipality’s drive to go plastic-free has not been met with the same enthusiasm.
However, Thomas Paul, the president of the Thripunithura Merchants Union, said all the 670-odd members of the union had agreed to switch to cloth bags.
There were merchants who were still using plastic carry bags, said O. V. Salim, vice chairman of the Thripunithura Municipality. “We had been talking about plastic ban since September and had issued a notice around mid-October. The actual implementation was from November 1. We would like to see how things turn out by the end of December,” he said.
Though the response of the merchants had been positive, the concept of plastic-free town would become a success only when the residents too respond in the same manner, he said.
‘Good response’
Plastic ban in Maradu Municipality, which was implemented in August, is a success, claim the municipal authorities.
“There are still many things to be done, but the response of the merchants and the residents is good so far,” said Divya Anilkumar, chairperson, Maradu Municipality.
The municipality had decided to provide two big shopper cloth bags to all residents to drive home the point of giving up the habit of carrying home plastic carry bags.
“People bring home provisions packed in 1-kg, 2-kg plastic packing materials, which cannot be avoided in today’s circumstances. But these can be recycled and do not pose the kind of hazards of the thin varieties,” said the chairperson.
Maradu town would be removing all the flex boards too in a phased manner, she said. A time-plan was being prepared for it, she said.
