Page 27 - Plastics News June 2018

FeAtures

Confusion on the ground very messy with water dripping out of it. We sell in the
Kalina-Santa Cruz market, where there is a large Christian
While the notification was passed in March, the government
has revised it multiple times over the course of three population. Generally after Easter, when the period of
months. Many in the state are still awaiting a clarity on fasting for Christians is over, business sees a strong surge.
how the mechanism will it work. The government has But this time nobody is coming to buy fish due to this
come up with ‘Buy Back’ policy where the stall owner is inconvenience.
expected to offer money in return over the plastic bottle BMC has told us to stop using plastic bags or else they will
deposited by the user. While the state government is cancel our licence. We will write to them soon and are
expected to repay the amount shelled by stall owners also planning a protest,” she added. While the fish sellers
in payback, licensees claimed no official communication say they are not opposed to the ban, they said they want
has been received. “Without a sufficient number of the government to provide them an alternative. “It is
crushing machines at stations, disposing of plastic bottles important that the government implement this ban as the
would not be possible. With only four days left for the plastic is harmful to the environment. But they also need
ban, we are not sure as to what has to be done of the to provide us alternatives to plastic or paper. They need
available bottles,” Amit Mittal, proprietor of three stalls to do some research to find something suitable for our
at railway said. business. The thermocol boxes we use to provide as cold
storage for the fish have also been banned. We can use
On the other hand, the dairy operators in the state have
been ordered to put in place a buyback mechanism for insulated boxes but they are very expensive. The fisheries
plastic milk pouches till July 11. Besides this, they are department provides subsidies for the fishing community
also not allowed to use plastic bags less than 50 microns to purchase them. This should also be extended to allied
thickness to package the milk. They should print a buyback businesses like ours so that we can replace the thermocol
price, of not less than Rs 0.50, for the pouches. Officials boxes,” said Ujwala Patil, President, Mumbai Division of
of the Maharashtra State Cooperative Milk Federation, Maharashtra Machhimar Kruti Samiti.
an apex federation of district and taluka-level milk Minister for Environment Ramdas Kadam said, “People
unions, said that they have written to the state dairy earlier used to carry dabbas (steel boxes) to buy fish they
development and environment departments seeking more can continue doing that. The mentality of the people
information. “We have asked for clarity on how to set up needs to change here.” Meanwhile, Nidhi Choudhary,
the recollection mechanism and how the refund system Deputy Municipal Commissioner (Special), confirmed that
will work,” said an official from the federation. licences can be cancelled if rules stipulated by the civic
body are flouted. “Those wanting to run their business
“Using plastic bags above 50 microns and setting up the
buyback mechanism for recycling will put an additional will come up with innovative ways… We are a coastal city,
financial burden on dairies. So, the government should plastic has till date created huge damage, and now it is
guide us in setting up the mechanism and also provide time we correct our mistakes,” she said, adding that in
some funds. Otherwise, it may lead to increase in milk the pre-plastic era people carried fish in creel baskets.
prices,” Arun Narke, former president of Indian Dairy “Fish sellers can ask their customers to even get a steel
Association and director of Gokul Dairy in Kolhapur, said. vessel with a cover. We need to change our mentality
first,” she said.
Tough time for fish, meat sellers in Mumbai without
alternative options
With stocks of plastic bags running out, vendors of fish
and meat across the city have reported serious difficulties
in conducting their business in the absence of other
affordable and practical packaging material. “After
the ban on plastic was implemented, we have suffered
an 80 per cent loss in our business,” said Naina Patil,
president of the Akhil Bharatiya Koli Mahasangha, an
association of fisherfolk. “We have been managing with
paper but it is useless, as it cannot hold fish and gets

27 June 2018 Plastics News