The Times of India    02.09.2010

Panel gets more teeth to end plastic bag menace

KOLKATA: The state government has reconstituted the plastic management committee to give it more teeth and end the menace of plastic bags, once and for all.

Three years ago, polythene bags less than 40microns thick were banned all over the state, but the law is flouted openly in every market, neighbourhood and on every street. Banned carrybags are manufactured by the tonne and they form the bulk of waste that piles up in the city and clogs drains and sewers.

The new-look committee is aiming for a complete turnaround. Its first target will be the 200-odd units in Kolkata that make 2,500 to 3,000 tonnes of banned carrybags a month.

Environment department law officer Biswajit Mukherjee said representatives of some more civic bodies have been included in the committee. "Civic bodies in North Bengal have done a great job of combating the plastic menace but the city and its surroundings hasn't seen much success. The pollution control board has intensified raids on manufacturing units," he said.

The reconstituted committee will have representatives from three of the biggest municipal corporations of the state Kolkata, Howrah and Siliguri. Officials from Kolkata and Bengal Police and the urban development and municipal affairs departments will also be on the committee.