Urban News

Indian Express 08.01.2010

BMC sets eyes on thin plastic, thermocol too

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) wants to prohibit use of thermocols, metallic plastic and plastic used for packaging grocery products, along with the ongoing ban on plastic below 50 microns thickness.

The civic body is set to pass a resolution seeking an amendment to the Maharashtra Non-Biodegradable Material Control Act 2006 to include these forms of plastics and thermocols.

Taking forward the agenda set by Mayor Shraddha Jadhav, Shiv Sena leader in the BMC Sunil Prabhu has tabled a notice of motion in the general body, asking for a ban on plastic bags. The demand will be debated in the council on Friday. “It is necessary to amend the Act and widen the ban on plastic to prevent recurrence of the 2005 deluge,” he said.

He said there was also a need to do away with the thin plastic used for packaging grocery products, thermocol and metallic plastic as they are non-biodegradable and clog nullahs during monsoon.

Following approval from all the corporators, the proposal will be forwarded to the government. “The state should act quickly on the proposal and ensure effective implementation,” he said.

Prabhu also demanded that the environment department of the BMC should submit quarterly reports about the implementation of the ban to the Mayor.

The state had introduced the Act in 2006 in the wake of the 2005 Mumbai floods when plastic bags were found to have clogged drains and aggravated the deluge.

Indian Express 08.01.2010

‘Complete ban on plastic not a solution’

Opposing the complete ban on use of plastic bags, the Association for Promotion of Plastics has urged the civic body to take into consideration the union and state government regulations on plastic ban.

The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC), on December 23 last year, had passed a resolution in the general body banning plastic bags in its jurisdiction. The civic administration had started its strict implementation across the city and fined those selling plastic bags.

In a memorandum submitted to Mayor Mohansingh Rajpal, former chairman of Polymer Committee of Mharatta Chamber of Commerce Industries and Agriculture (MCCIA) J K Saraf said, “The union and state government have already come up with a law banning plastic. Therefore, the civic body should check whether they can come out with a different rule and implement it only after verification.”

The decision should not be implemented without the approval of the state government and all concerned people should be taken into confidence, he said. “Plastic bag is everybody's need and banning it is not a solution.”

Saraf said, “There should be strict action against use of plastic bags below 50 micron size but the bags above 50 microns should not be banned as they are recycled.”

Citing that the state-appointed Ranganathan Committee in 2005 had given a report on feasibility of total ban on plastic bags as negative and the decision to ban only bags with less than 50 microns was taken by state government, Saraf said thickness regulation is accepted but not a complete ban.