Use of plastic bag continues even after ban

The Coimbatore Corporation seized nine tonnes of single-use plastic in the city in the last five months and even as officials continue to seize the plastic, its use continues across the city.

The Coimbatore Corporation seized nine tonnes of single-use plastic in the city in the last five months and even as officials continue to seize the plastic, its use continues across the city.

Be it markets, eateries, or roadside vendors, use of banned plastic bags are common in many outlets.

For instance, at the Flower Market and Anna market, vendors R. Ambika and K. Devaraj asked their customers whether they had a bag. When the response was negative, they immediately pulled out single use plastic covers to hand over the purchased items to the respective customers.

The local vendors claim there are no affordable alternatives. “Middlemen who buy plastic items from Raja Street or Thomas Street visit us at the markets to sell a pack of 100 covers for ₹ 100 whereas paper bags are ₹5 a piece. Polythene bags are here to stay unless manufacturing is stopped and cheaper replacements are easily available,” said Ambiga.

M. Nazar, a vendor at the Flower Market, claimed that the Meendum Manjapai machine had worked well only for a month and was under repair now.

An agency on Thomas Street near Raja Street claimed that it sourced single-use plastic products from Gujarat and Maharashtra and receive at least 200 orders a day from its customers.

An official from the Corporation said the civic body officials recently seized 638 kg of banned plastic items from an outlet on Thomas Street and levied a fine of ₹ 25,000.