Thiruvananthapuram: As the New Year dawns in Kerala, the state would say good riddance to single-use plastic. Beginning January 1, 2020, plastic ban would come into effect in the state.
Though merchants have voiced their unease, the government has said that it would not go back on the decision to ban plastic.
Detailed instructions would be issued soon. However, the High Court has ordered that no prosecution action should be taken till January 15 over having the stock of plastic items banned by the government.
Preparations incomplete
Though the government had instructed Beverages Corporation, Kerafed, Milma, and Water Authority among others to take back the plastic bottles and covers, arrangements in this regard have not been completed.
There is little clarity on processing the plastic collected by local bodies via the Haritha Karma Sena.
There are only 133 shredding units in Kerala to shred plastic waste so that they could be used for road construction. Even all the local bodies have not started collection centres for collecting plastic. Currently, there are 800 collection centres.
Cloth bags from Kudumbashree
The Kudumbashree has introduced cloth bags as substitute for plastic. Eco-friendly bags are made using clothes, jute and paper at 3,000 units. Thousand women based at the 10 apparel parks have been tasked for this. The price of the cloth bag would be in the range of Rs 10 to Rs 50.
The manufacture and distribution of other eco-friendly products and utensils would be stepped up.
Banned items
* Plastic bags
* Plastic sheet
* Plastic plate, cup, spoon, straw, stirrer
* Thermocol, styrofoam plate and cup
* Paper cup, plate, bag, bowl with plastic coating
* Non-woven bag, plastic flag, and plastic decorations
* Plastic drinking pouch, non-branded plastic juice packet
* Drinking water bottles of less than 500 milli litres
* Garbage bag
* Flex, banner
Items on which ban was revoked
* Cling film used to cover food, vegetables
* Prior use of plastic covers to store grains, legumes, sugar
* Plastic cover for wrapping fish, chicken
* Branded juice packets, packets on branded products
* Plastic items for export
* Plastic items for medical care
* Compostable plastic
A phone-in programme for women
Plastic ban comes into effect from Wednesday. As a society which is highly depended on plastic, how would we cope with this ban? What are the alternatives for plastic? How would we make it practical? How can the ban be effectively implemented? You may share your suggestions with Manorama or put forth eco-friendly recommendations.
This phone-in programme is only for women and will be available from 10am to 1pm on Tuesday (December 31).
Phone: 04862 229388 (Note: Other phone numbers of Manorama are not available for this programme.)
