The state government has flagged off an awareness vehicle to spread the word on the ill effects of using plastic, ahead of the ban on January 1, and local bodies like the Greater Chennai Corporation may have been encouraging citizens to use alternatives to plastics from now for a  smooth transition, but the public is still wondering if the ban will be enforced in full strength.

Ganga Sridhar, a resident of Raja Street Mandaveli, and part of core committee of Sustainable Waste Management People’s Forum, has been meeting groups of residents across the city to spread the message of recycling and source segregation. She said that while the will among proactive residents has strengthened across several associations, the rest are yet to warm up to it. “The ones who are keen didn’t need the ban, they are already working on a plastic-free lifestyle, the problem is with the lack of awareness about the alternatives. Also, most residents want to see how strictly the ban is imposed before making the shift,” Ganga said.

True to her words, a few associations like those in T Nagar and Valasaravakkam have decided to wait for the ban to be implemented to see how they can mobilise the community to cooperate. Ganga, however, pointed out that tretail outlets deciding to stop giving out plastic covers to consumers is encouraging. “But we need a lot more people to cooperate. At the moment, most seem reluctant,” she added.

Among the 5000 tonnes of garbage generated by the city every day, at least 10 per cent is plastic waste, claimed officials from the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board. While the board has been meeting with various associations like the hotel owners and mall owners, they have also been carrying out advertisements on radio and near toll plazas about the impending ban. A senior official from the body said, “It is the Greater Chennai Corporation who has a greater role to play. Extended producers’ responsibility should come to the fore, when it concerns removing plastics from circulation.” The board has been reaching out to National Green Corps covering schools to spread the message.

The Greater Chennai Corporation — apart from emphasising on the alternatives — has been roping in animators across the 15 zones to take the message across. A senior official from Zone 13 said, “We have also fixed one day for every week to collect plastic covers from all homes. We are coordinating it through conservancy workers and residents have come forward to give them away. Once the ban comes into force, it is going to make the process easier.”

Arul Priya, the founder of Namma Boomi, a manufacturer of paper, jute and cotton bags, said that the encouraging part is businesses have begun to explore alternatives to plastics. “We have been getting increasing number of queries from many businesses. Food aggregators like Swiggy too have approached us for alternative packaging materials,” she said. But, the costs have not been encouraging for many. “When it comes to packaging items like sambar, an alternative to plastic cover is still a question. Drier food items such as chutney or other additional food items can be packed in a banana leaf, but for sambar alone spending Rs 15 on packaging is not an option for food aggregators. P Natarajan, the founder of Namma Ooru Foundation that works on green activities, said that the enthusiasm to follow it is not uniform across business. “Just a few retail outlets are taking it seriously,” he said.

Natarajan added that for the ban to percolate, schools and children should be targeted. “We need to take the awareness and the knowledge of availability of viable options to the younger population to bring about a change,” he said. While welcoming the ban, Sultan Ismail, the director of Ecoscience Research Foundation, said that the more important task is to provide the alternatives to shopkeepers. “If they have been getting a particular number of plastic bags for Rs 20, then the government should be able to provide them the alternative bags at the same cost. They could engage NGOs for the task.”