Nagpur: For the last four days, grocery store owners are grappling with the problem of how to pack items like pulses, lentils, sugar, rice and spices.
With the ban on all kinds of plastic carry bags and containers coming into force, the issue is big as they have customers buying anywhere between 5-25kg of items at a time.
So far, the grocery stores are using existing stocks of plastic bags lying with them. “But this will last barely for another week after which we will face a serious problem,” says Kalpesh Jain, who runs a store in Sakkardara.
“For the last two-three days, I have been giving jute bags which are used by distributors and wholesalers to pack. I have asked customers to store them and bring them back to the shop next time,” says Jain, who is planning to get cloth bags of all dimensions stitched out of old saris and clothes to use at his store.
With notices being put up outside grocery stores saying ‘no plastic carry bags will be provided’, customers now will have to get used to bringing their own bags or shell out for reusable ones.
“People have still not got into the habit of carrying bags to stores,” says Virendra Sahu, who runs a provision store at Golibar Chowk. “So far, we were packing dry kirana items like dal, rice, sugar and others in virgin plastic bags which come without handle. Paper bags are no substitute as they are not sturdy,” says Sahu.
“Wrapping items in newspapers and tying them with strings will be very time-consuming, so we are not even looking at the option,” he adds.
Agreeing that newspaper wrapping of grocery is a big no, Dhanesh Jethani, who has a grocery store in Khamla, says, “We do not get the kind of hard working labour who would sit and pack the stuff and tie them with a string.”
“Identifying the items while billing and making delivery also becomes a problem when they are not packed in plastic bags. We are waiting for some solutions to emerge and will follow accordingly,” he says.
The ban has provoked both dismay and praise, but the biggest question for many is what will happen when the supply of plastic bags dries up? “Finding an alternate, calculating its cost are the biggest challenges facing us today,” says Harish Pitalwar, who runs an online grocery store.
“Our services include home deliveries, so we can’t ask customers to provide bags. Besides, a person who orders online is accustomed to decent packing of items ordered by him,” says Pitalwar.
So far, items are placed in huge plastic bags and delivered. “But now we are thinking of getting big stainless steel crates in which we will put vegetables. For groceries, there is still no option, though we are testing bags made with corn starch for its strength,” he adds.
