MUMBAI: Following up on state environment minister Aaditya Thackeray’s pledge to make Maharashtra free of single-use plastic by May, the BMC has swung into action.
A civic official from the shop and establishments department said, “We will warn establishments and hawkers that in case of repeated offences, we will not only hike the penalty amount, but also consider cancelling their licence.”
But Dayashankar Singh of the Azad Hawkers’ Union said any action by the municipality always starts with hawkers. “But hawkers do not get plastic bags from their home. Instead of targeting them, the authorities should first crackdown on the single-use plastic manufacturing units,” he added.
The ban against singleuse plastic came into force on March 23, 2018, after the Maharashtra government issued a notification. The BMC then started its drive in June 2018, and till date has seized 86,000kg material and recovered Rs 4.6 crore as fines after examining around 16 lakh premises.
But the BMC was unable to sustain the momentum. While some civic officials claimed that vigilance reduced last year with staffers going on poll duty, others admitted that the drive slowed down due to lack of clarity, non-availability of alternatives and inadequate awareness campaigns. A civic official had earlier told TOI: “Extended producer responsibility (EPR) is a matter of concern. It was decided that plastic water bottle manufactures would develop a mechanism to collect used plastic bottles for recycling, but it has not happened.”
To fix the problem, the BMC has now decided to create awareness at its schools, asking students to collect plastic at home and deposit it at school for recycling. Most BMC schoolchildren come from slums. BMC will then encourage private schools to adopt similar measures.
A civic official from the shop and establishments department said, “We will warn establishments and hawkers that in case of repeated offences, we will not only hike the penalty amount, but also consider cancelling their licence.”
But Dayashankar Singh of the Azad Hawkers’ Union said any action by the municipality always starts with hawkers. “But hawkers do not get plastic bags from their home. Instead of targeting them, the authorities should first crackdown on the single-use plastic manufacturing units,” he added.
The ban against singleuse plastic came into force on March 23, 2018, after the Maharashtra government issued a notification. The BMC then started its drive in June 2018, and till date has seized 86,000kg material and recovered Rs 4.6 crore as fines after examining around 16 lakh premises.
But the BMC was unable to sustain the momentum. While some civic officials claimed that vigilance reduced last year with staffers going on poll duty, others admitted that the drive slowed down due to lack of clarity, non-availability of alternatives and inadequate awareness campaigns. A civic official had earlier told TOI: “Extended producer responsibility (EPR) is a matter of concern. It was decided that plastic water bottle manufactures would develop a mechanism to collect used plastic bottles for recycling, but it has not happened.”
To fix the problem, the BMC has now decided to create awareness at its schools, asking students to collect plastic at home and deposit it at school for recycling. Most BMC schoolchildren come from slums. BMC will then encourage private schools to adopt similar measures.
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