Pink city soon to be plastic-free

Pink city soon to be plastic-free
RAJESH SINHA

JAIPUR, AUG 28: A complete ban on use of recycled polythene is envisaged in Jaipur from November 1. And to educate the public about the environmental hazards of polythene prior to banning it, a public awareness campaign is already on in the city.

Use of recycled polythene and polythene of less than 20 microns was earlier banned by a notification of the Central Government a year ago, in September 1999. According to the Jaipur Municipal Corporation, Rs.25 lakhs are spent every year in clearing up of sewer lines that get choked due to polythene bags.

According to another report, polythene bags with all kinds of food stuff, thrown by people and consumed by cows have been responsible for deaths of seventy-five per cent of the cows dying in the city. Postmortem on one of the cows that died recently revealed her stomach had 40 kilograms of polythene inside.

Speaking about the drive in this context, Minister for Urban Development Shanti Dhariwal said if the ban on polythene turned out to be successful in Jaipur, the government planned to implement it in other cities as well.

The Plastic Manufacturers' Association has also entered the debate. PMA secretary OP Maheshwari has said publicity on the issue is being directed against plastic and polythene as a whole when actually the ban was only on recycled, coloured polythene carry-bags. The talk and speeches of authorities against polythene bags and plastic in general is creating a wrong impression, he said. "Milk and mineral water packed in plastic pouches and bottles are being consumed by everyone without any problem," he said.

Maheshwari said polythene was a cheap material compared to paper bags or metal containers sought to be promoted in their place.