The shopping hub of T. Nagar is far from ready for the ban on single-use plastics that will kick in on January 1, 2019.
While the big retailers have found alternatives like cloth and jute bags, many of the smaller shopkeepers don’t even know about the ban.
Additional burden
Kumaran, who has been running his artificial jewellery business in a 100 sq. ft. shop for over a decade, said, “People who walk up to my shop are middle-class people. They pick up products for ₹100-₹300, depending on their budget. All my products are wrapped in plastic and I deliver the goods in a plastic cover. If I use some other packaging it will be an additional burden for me.”
Ramesh Kumar, who sells shoes and slippers below the Usman Road flyover, said that it’s impossible to give slippers in any other cover apart from plastic. “My consignments come from Mumbai in huge boxes and each slipper is kept in a plastic cover. I was not even aware of the ban,” he added.
At Sathya Bazaar, parallel to Ranganathan Street, many shopowners were not aware of the impending ban. Fifteen small vendors here who sell products like bags, flowers, toys, books, clothes and watches said they were not aware of any plastic ban.
The 2,880 shops in the T. Nagar shopping hub generate over 6 tonnes of plastic waste a day. Of this, 5 tonnes is recyclable while the rest is taken to the dump yard.
Prolific use
On any given day, one can see heaps of plastic while walking on Ranganathan Street and Usman Road.
According to estimates, over 50,000 people come to this shopping hub daily. During the festive season, the footfall goes up to over a lakh. On an average, each shopper carries 2-5 plastic bags. The total turnover of this place could be anywhere between ₹25,000 crore and ₹30,000 crore per year (this includes hawkers and shops).
The proprietor of one of the largest utensil shops in T.Nagar said that people coming to his outlet insist on getting their products wrapped in plastic covers. “We have customised plastic covers to accommodate each kind of vessel they buy. I can’t replace it with any other bag,” he said.
In a building which houses several shops, a tailor said, “Each of us gets 10-15 orders per day and the cloth comes wrapped in plastic covers (which is discarded). We give the stitched clothes in a plastic carry bag. Investing monies in alternatives would be a burden for us.”
During nights, ragpickers take over the streets. “This is one area where we can easily pick plastic covers but the challenge here is not all plastic that you see here can be recycled,” one of them said. Pointing at the plastic waste on the road, he said only 20% of it could be recycled.
Shopkeepers said that they would soon meet and discuss the plastics ban and whether they could seek an extension from the government.
