Nagpur: Major malls and mega stores in city say they are prepared for the ban on plastic bags that came into force from March 23. A number of stores like Westside have been using environmentally friendly reusable bags. “We stopped the use of plastic bags a few months back and have been trying to change the mindset of the customer by charging them for it,” says Imran Khan, store manager at Westside Ramdaspeth.
Khan says a majority of customers opt to pay for the bag. “Barely two out of ten carry their own bag and a couple decide to carry the purchase without the bag,” he says.
Most of these stores have stocks of plastic carry bags that will be exhausted in three months which is the time given by the government to phase out plastic totally. Maharashtra brought a ban on plastic bags, containers, and other products on March 18 which came into force a week later.
“We are exploring the availability of cloth and paper bags and will be sourcing them from either Indore or Kolkata,” says Avinash Mogedum, general Manager Purti Super Bazaar. The mega store uses around 10,000 plastic carry bags a month. “We have been using the 50 micron bags in four sizes but the most used ones are 10”x13” and 16”x20” sizes,” he says.
The vibrant red colour transparent bags given out to customers at Central mall will now be made of paper. “We are charging Rs10 and Rs15 for these bags which come in two sizes,” says Karan Singh Chattre, marketing manager. The bags cost more than this amount, “but we are giving it to the customer at a lower price to facilitate them but are charging so they get into the habit of bringing their own reusable bags,” he says. About the plastic material used in display of various products, Chattre says, “All of it is thick plastic but with this ban in force companies will replace them with paper and cardboard,” he says.
Another mega store Pantaloons, which was charging for the plastic carry bags, is in the process of introducing paper bags now. “We give paper bags to our 5 and 7 star customers for free. Now they will be available to all customers at a charge,” says a source at the store who adds that paper bags in four sizes will arrive by next week. Nearly 3,000 plastic carry bags are used at Big Bazar’s mega store at Ramdaspeth every day. “We charge Rs5, 4 and 2 for them. From Monday, we will be replacing them with those made with corn starch,” says a Big Bazar official adding a bulk of customers carry their own reusable bags.
Finding a way out that benefits many is the management at Purushottam Super Bazaar. “We are using cloth bags made by physically challenged girls of Apang Seva Niketan. They come in two sizes and we are charging our customers Rs10 and 15 for them. The money goes to Apang Seva Niketan,” informs Rajkumar Agarwal, store head at Katol Road and adds that nearly 25 of these cloth bags are being picked up by customers everyday.
