BHUBANESWAR: The Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) has decided not to give any more time to the shopkeepers and retailers violating the polythene ban in the city.The BMC had organised an awareness programme among the retailers, corporators and the shopkeepers in February. From March 1, 15 days deadline was given to all the shopkeepers not to use polythene below 40 micron thickness. However, one can still find traders and shopkeepers using polythene below 40 micron thickness. BMC officials claim that some progress has been made and the people’s response to polythene ban is positive, but the city is still a long way from being polythene-free. A few shops have started using polythene above 40 micron thickness, but not all of them are biodegradable. “We have asked these shop owners to replace them with biodegradable ones,” said a senior BMC official. Many small shops are using polythene of 20 micron thickness, but that is not allowed under the Plastic Waste (Management and Handling) Rules, 2011. “Even the 20 micron polythene is very expensive and we cannot even charge our customers. If this gets more expensive, we will lose out on profit margin considerably,” said Ramesh, a grocer at Rasulgarh Chhak. Currently, a squad of 10 members is doing rounds of the market places and notifying the shop owners about the ban. “Notice will be sent to all those violating the ban. In the next step, they will be penalised and the materials seized from their shops. If required, we will take the help of the police,” said a senior BMC official.Major shopping malls are still using polythene bags below 40 micron thickness and are also charging customers for the same. BMC officials said they would look into the matter. One still cannot find any major hoarding or banner in the city advertising the polythene ban. This makes it difficult for the common man to know whether the polythene ban has been implemented at all.
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