Over the last two weeks, 39-year-old Venkatesan, who runs a photocopying unit and stationary store in Nochi Nagar, has been politely refusing to hand out plastic carry bags to his customers. “Initially, the customers were surprised but when I told them that we have stocked cloth bags, which they could buy or rent, some opted to do so, while the rest preferred to carry their papers without a plastic cover.”

The change is due to efforts by the residents and volunteers from a citybased NGO, Chennai Trekking Club (CTC), which has been helping Nochi Nagar and the nearby hamlet of Srinivasapuram, become zero-garbage model yards. For the past six months, M Maniarasu, a resident from Nochi Nagar, who works in a BPO in the city, has been dedicating his off-work hours to create awareness among the families living in the locality and the shopkeepers.

“We gave out cloth bags to each family (at a cost of Rs 10 for two bags) and to the shopkeepers – after spending 10 minutes at each of the 30 shops in the locality, explaining the harmful effects of plastic. The shops can either sell the bag or give it on rent. While most of the shops responded positively, those selling vegetables and fruits and fast-food units were initially hesitant, but have now decided to give it a shot,” he said. 

Ashok Rajendran, a volunteer with CTC, who has been working with the local community since early 2016, said that reducing plastic waste was the logical next step, after getting the residents to source segregate the waste and dispose it efficiently.