plastic, bags, please!

Chandigarh did it. The city has banned plastic bags entirely. Quite a brave move by Indian standards. Also, it is not a low-hanging fruit like the  ‘No Smoking in public places’ ban imposed by our beloved health minister. No plastic bags ban is definite. There is no ambiguity involved. It is not subjective to the public’s interpretation and it does not transfer wealth to our corrupt cops. Maybe it does. But the ban on plastic bags is much better than the No Smoking ban. It actually targets the issue at hand by going after the shopkeepers.

Chandigarh is not the first city to make this brave move. I have seen Ooty (Udakamandalam) already implementing this. There are no plastic bags in Ooty. This is a good experiment for other cities to follow. Based on the lessons learnt from Chandigarh, other bigger cities can start implementing this. But before doing this there are some things, which have to be taken care of.

New eco-friendly bags at higher prices are already making the rounds. It is imperative for the government to step in and certify the eco friendliness of these bags. This has to be done before the ban is implemented and the bags are produced on a mass scale. We cannot create one more problem to solve the existing problem. Citizens should also respond and be mature to embrace the change. This is a collective effort. Other cities instead waiting for the ban can easily pilot the experiment of eco-friendly bags or any other alternatives.

Yearly flooding in Mumbai is remotely related to the drains being clogged by the plastic bags. If Mumbai can ban plastic bags by providing alternatives it would reduce the risk of flooding. It will not happen immediately but it will happen in years to come.

If you think eco-friendly bag is expensive I have a suggestion. Carry your own bag. It will take some time for the eco-friendly bag to be cheaper.

Sure the plastic industry will suffer but they can either re-invent themselves by going into eco-friendly products or face extinction. The choice is theirs to make. I am simplifying things for the plastic industry, but do we have a choice?

Plastic bags provide us convenience. But, they also provide us hazards to deal with.

What would you choose convenience or environment?