The Times of India 19.08.2009
40 tonnes plastic waste each day
CHENNAI: On Independence Day, the Marina was declared plastic-free no longer are disposable cups, plates, bags or even water sachets allowed on the 4.5 km stretch beginning from the light house to the Anna memorial.
While it's a baby step towards ensuring that the sea is free of plastic waste, there's much more that needs to be done in a city that's choking on plastic. Chennai Corporation commissioner Rajesh Lakhoni says, "Of the 3,400 tons of plastic generated in the city every day, 35 to 40 tons is plastic waste and most of that is plastic bags."
And it's a problem facing countries across the world: each year, an estimated 500 billion to 1 trillion plastic bags are consumed worldwide, which is about over one million a minute and most of them end up in the dustbin in a few minutes. Closer home, every Nilgiris supermarket outlet in the city receives an average of 15,000 plastic bags a month. And Odyssey's nine bookstores in Chennai give out about 30,000 plastic bags a month.
"All the stores give out so many plastic bags," says Radhika V, a housewife. "For instance, when I do my weekly shopping, I take home about a dozen plastic bags one each for the different veggies, one for biscuits, chocolates and snacks, one for the soaps and detergents, one for frozen foods, one for milk products and so on."
Though no specific studies have been done on the number of plastic bags used in the city, Kurian Joseph, assistant professor, centre for environmental studies, Anna University, says 8% to 15% of garbage by weight is plastic. "We assess it by weight because plastic is light. But in terms of volume, the amount of plastic would be 20% to 30% as it occupies a lot of space. It's such an eyesore," says the professor who led a team that did a couple of sample surveys last year.
Aesthetic concerns aside, a single plastic bag takes about 1,000 years to degrade. "The threat to human and animal life is huge as chlorinated plastic releases carcinogens when they are burnt and foraging animals often choke on plastic," says Joseph. He adds that water percolation also gets affected as plastic does not let water enter the ground. "There are many dimensions to plastic pollution. For instance, water can collect in discarded plastic and lead to breeding of mosquitoes, or it can block sewers and drains. Plastic by itself is a good material; it's durable and useful, but thin plastics and disposable items made from plastic should be banned," he says.
Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board conducted a survey of establishments that manufacture plastics around the city, ahead of the ban at the Marina. "There are 250 units registered with the plastic manufacturers association. Some violate the Recycled Plastics Manufacture and Usage (Amendment) Rules, 2003, which provides for a ban on manufacture, sale, distribution and use of carry bags made of virgin or recycled plastics which are less than 20 microns in thickness and 8"x12" in size," sources in the department say, adding that action will be taken.
"Microns are the measure of thickness of the plastic. Only plastic over 20 microns can be recycled," says Joseph. "However, the law is not being implemented," he adds. Cities such as Delhi, Chandigarh, Hyderabad, Coimbatore and Udhagamandalam have banned plastic completely. The Madras high court recently suggested a city-wide ban on plastics below 60 microns. "We have banned plastic less than 20 microns, but a complete ban is not a solution as plastic has a lot of practical uses," says Lakhoni. "The idea is to segregate and recycle.
When plastic is thrown away without being recycled it is a problem; if you remove it from the garbage, you are tackling the problem. So we are focusing on raising awareness about recycling and reducing use,"
he says, adding that the local body has tied up with ITC and Harita-NTI Ltd, which buy plastic waste from them at Rs 2 a kg to be re-used.
Some stores, like Odyssey and Nilgiris in Mylapore have made efforts to reduce plastic use. Odyssey has been experimenting with different materials. "We tried with paper bags but our products, like books and gift articles, are too heavy, and jute bags are prohibitively expensive. In Delhi, for the past two months, we have introduced recycled paper bags and we're planning to introduce it in all our large stores," says TS Ashwin, MD, Odyssey.
The Nilgiris outlet in Mylapore gives one percent discount to customers who bring their own bags, while the Adyar branch allows customers to take home their groceries in a 100% biodegradable bag for Re 1 extra per bag. "We found that giving out eco-friendly bags is too expensive but giving customers a one percent discount would be a good alternative," says Shivakumar MSS, manager purchase at Nilgiris
