Cloth bag vending machine inaugurated in Dharmapuri

The authorities are now deliberating over an ideal location for installing the machine

Dharmapuri Collector K. Shanthi inagurating a cloth bag vending machine in the presence of Agirculture Minister M. R. K. Paneerselvam on Tuesday. | Photo Credit: BASHKARAN N

A vending machine that dispenses manjapai (yellow bag) was inaugurated in Dharmapuri on Tuesday.  

This is a pilot project and a first for a district, next only to Chennai, where it was inaugurated at Koyambedu vegetable market, said District Environmental Engineer A. Samuel Rajkumar, unveiling the proposed plans for the machine in a semi-rural district. 

The machine, purchased at a cost of ₹ 50,000, can accommodate up to 40 bags. At present, the administration has fixed a price of ₹ 10 a bag. 

The higher the capacity of the machine, the greater would be the cost.  The cost of the machine can go as high as ₹ 1 lakh to ₹ 1.5 lakh, depending on its capacity to accommodate upto 150 to 200 bags.

The authorities are now deliberating over an ideal location for setting up the vending machine. 

“Initially, we were toying with the idea of installing it in Uzhavar Sandhai. But people bring their own bags to the market. So, we are now considering the bus stand,” said Dr.Rajkumar.  This would also mean providing power connection to the machine and find a custodian for the machine in the form of Dharmapuri Municipality.  “A decision would be made in two days and the machine will be set up,” he said.

The success of the novel idea of a vending machine for cloth bags will however depend on public response . This would inturn bring down the cost per bag, he said. 

According to him, the challenge is to bring down the cost per bag to ₹ 7 and eventually to ₹ 5.  

If the vending machine turns out to be successful, it can also be placed in shopping complexes. It would be ideal for shopping complexes and the goal is to create a habit of the use of cloth bags, said Dr.Rajkumar.