Poly-team

* Amit Gophane,who has his vegetable shop in Koregaon Park have switched from distributing around 350 plastic bags in a day to cloth bags

Three month after the civic body imposed a complete ban on use of plastic bags,the decision that has slashed across all sections of the society has led to individuals and organisations increasingly supporting the initiative and coming up with alternatives ways while striking the right chord. While some keep a watch to inspect the unlawful usage,others have suggested alternatives and still others held up the cause. “It was infact a realization after the unavailability of bags and led to carrying my own bag for any shopping. Although plastic is a menace its easy availability was one of the reasons for its reckless usage even when evading it is a matter of being environmentally responsible and to the city’s benefit,” adds Tiwari.

Initiated by eCoexist,a group of residents of Kalyani Nagar have been meeting every week to keep a check on the plastic used in their locality. “We initiated ‘Use Me Again’ in January which as the name suggests urges people to reuse plastics or anything for that matter which we tend to dispose off soon. Since then we have been following up,practically going to the shops,talking to the shopkeepers and coordinating between various teams like SWACH to make available the paper bags,” says Manisha Gutman,founder eCoexist.

Amit Gophane’s whose vegetable shop in Koregaon Park is perpetually crowded says,“We bought cloth bags and decided to let our customers buy them for Rs 10 which we refund in case they want to return the bag next time. While many carry their own bags now,some others still ask us to stock the 50 micron plastic bags.”

By early next month Ishanya Foundation plans to make around 20000 bags through their unique campaign. Their ‘No Plastic’ cause has students,hotels and apartments contributing to the idea of donating dupattas to be reused as bags and has fetched a good response. The month long campaign will continue till the first week of April at the mall. “We have our core group members who collect the dupattas from different parts of the city. Cloth bags will be distributed soon at the Yellow Ribbon Fair to the NGO’s as well as the vegetable and fruit vendors,” informs Bindu Nair of the Foundation.

Providing green bags made from cloth and biodegradable ink is something that has reinforced the cause of Punita Mittal,Kshitij Bhotika,Namrata Padhi and Sabyasachi Das. “We started in May last year and since then have observed a steady growth in the number of clients going for these bags which are customised according to their needs. Initially started around our localities and shops it is also a form of social entrepreneurship for us that has come out of a conscious effort to do something for the environment,” adds Das.