RMC puts namkeen makers on notice over plastic plan

Rajkot: The Rajkot Municipal Corporation (RMC) has issued an ultimatum to the local namkeen makers (packaged snacks) to come up with a detailed action plan for re-collection of the plastic wrappers used to package the snacks. The civic body has so far issued notices in this regard to 55 namkeen manufacturers, has called them for a meeting on April 15.
In recent years, Rajkot has become a hub for namkeen manufacturing with some locals emerging as national players. This has also led to problem of plastic waste generation in the city. The RMC’s current drive is to curb the harmful trend, as most of the plastic wrappers non-recyclable.

In October last year, during a meeting with RMC, the manufactures had expressed their inability to carry out the re-collection of used plastic wrappers due to cost attached to it.

Now, with along with the ultimatum RMC has proposed that the namkeen makers increase the price of their product by 50 paise or a rupee to collect money for re-collection.

“As per the Plastic Waste Management Rules 2016 issued by union ministry of environment, forest and climate change, the namkeen makers have to frame a mechanism to re-collect their plastic waste and recycle it. They cannot escape their responsibility,” RMC commissioner Banchha Nidhi Pani told TOI.

“The manufacturers have to offer some incentives to those who return the namkeen wrapper. Even rag-pickers can earn from it,” he said, adding that rag pickers currently don’t prefer to pick the namkeen wrappers because it is not accepted by recyclers.

The Plastic Waste Management Rules 2016 also stated that it is responsibility of the producers using multilayer plastic packing to set up a plastic waste re-collection system.