Plastic Pangs

no more plastic bags for groceries and none at all at the local veggies seller, nor at the fruit seller's! Does the ban on the rampant use of plastic in our daily lives affect TV stars as much as it does the common man? Natasha Havewala decides to find out.

"I don't think there is any kind of ban because we still get milk in polythene packs; biscuits are still packed in plastic. So where is the ban??" wonders Aashish Kaul.

"In fact, even now at times when I go to the market I am given polythene bags. Although, we all know that the best choices are paper bags and the good old cloth bag, how many of us are actually using them?"

Ashish also goes red-faced when he talks about the corruption that's eating away at the system. "Just a few days ago, I saw a policeman fining a banana seller for Rs. 100 as he was using polythene bags. That poor guy would hardly be earning Rs. 500 per day but he had to pay the cop for using plastic. Why is the government not fining the companies that make plastic?"
"I don't think the so-called ban will last," he fumes.

Amit Sareen doesn't go shopping for groceries. But he agrees with Ashish when he says, "The government earns crores through plastic so I am sure the ban would be called off within some months. There was a ban earlier too, but what happened to that??" he questions.

"Unless the government substitutes it with an alternative, people will use plastic bags. Paper bags, bamboo shoot bags, or cloth bags are a good option but they are expensive," he reasons.

Gurdip Kohli does carry a large cloth bag where she dumps all her stuff, anyway. "Who's going to carry all the heavy stuff in those tiny bags? Its good that the government has banned plastic and it's the responsibly of every citizen that they support this ban by abstaining its use," she defends the ban.

"I Rajeshwari Sachdev has a different take on the issue. "Plastic is needed if not at the retail then at the industrial level. By banning plastic completely we could incur loses. The point is to recognise its importance and make it available where it needs to be used."
Rajeshwari herself always carries paper bags or cloth bags for grocery shopping. But, she says, "I do know my 'bai' and several like her are affected by the ban because they cannot afford a paper bag. The heavy downpour affected everyone and one way to prevent it from happening again is to avoid using polythene bags. But the government needs to come with an alternate low-cost solution for the lower- class."

Rakshanda Khan affirms, "I think we all are to be blamed for what happened on that fateful day of 26/7 and we suffered. We would have been saved if we abstained from using plastic way back when the government banned it some years ago." But there are practical problems.

"At times, when I hurry to the store, do my purchases and then realise that I have forgotten to carry a bag! Then I have to either buy a bag or carry all the stuff wrapped in a newspaper. But with time, I am sure I will remember to carry my cloth bag for shopping," she smiles.

'"I haven't been affected by the ban at all because I don't go grocery shopping," grins Vinod Sharawat, the ebullient Bluff Master host. "I have a few friends who find it difficult to let go of the plastic bag because they forget to take their cloth bag during grocery shopping. Nevertheless, I hope the government sticks to its resolution and doesn't withdraw it after some months…."
We hope so too.