Two of the major consumers of disposable plastics in the State are the food and food delivery businesses. And, both are trying to handle the ban on plastics in a way that will not affect their bottom lines.
While the food delivery platforms have said that it is too early to gauge the impact of the ban, several restaurants said that concrete changes are being effected by way of compliance.
A spokesperson from Zomato said that they had advised all their delivery executives to not handle products packed in plastics. “In cases where the restaurants aren't able to comply immediately, we have encouraged them to not put such items on the menu,” the spokesperson said. The company has also launched an eco-friendly packing range in Chennai.
“While items that can be safely packed in corrugated cardboard and other materials continue to be available, certain restaurants have requested temporary suspension of items which need water-proof packing, such as gravies, or soups,” members of the industry added.
N. Mohan, a resident of Alwarpet, said that he was pleasantly surprised on Thursday when he received his food order in aluminium foil boxes placed in a cloth bag. “The restaurant didn’t charge an additional packing charge as well,” he said.
While several fast food chains either used paper bags or cardboard boxes for deliveries, the few which didn’t have now done away with plastic sheets to wrap food such as sandwiches and burgers.
A spokesperson from Swiggy said that through their ‘Swiggy packaging assist programme’, they were also involved in connecting restaurants in Chennai and Madurai with vendors to provide eco-friendly carry bags for their orders.
Uber Eats, another delivery platform, said that it has started working closely with restaurant partners to work out cost-effective alternatives. “We are actively engaging with all stakeholders to ensure we comply with the said directive and are working with our partners to introduce sustainable packaging," a company spokesperson said.
P. Abhijith, a delivery boy in Tiruchi, said that despite all the discussion around packaging materials, their mandate still was to deliver food as quickly as possible.
“We cannot insist on restaurants changing. But, I find that there is a perceptible change some restaurants on doing away with plastics for parcels. It will gain momentum in the weeks to come if the officials continue to take action against violators,” he added.
Several smaller establishments are questioning the lack of cost-effective solutions.
“While we are getting by with aluminium foil for now, we need better options in the long run,” said the owner of a small restaurant in Chennai.
(With inputs from Deepa H. Ramakrishnan and Sangeetha Kandavel)
