Hyderabadis enthusiastic about shunning plastic

HYDERABAD: About seven months since it opened, the ‘Zero Waste Eco-Store’ in Karkhana, Secunderabad is where the environmentally conscious Hyderabadis are heading to, especially those who shun of plastic and want to eat unadulterated food. These are package-free stores. The store encourages people to bring their own bags or containers or charges a nominal amount if items need to be packed in paper bags or re-usable containers. 

People from all parts of the twin cities, some even as far from Gachibowli are not averse to making a trip here to buy their monthly groceries. The open-floored store, is essentially, your kirana store, but where unbranded items are sold, and one can touch, feel and sample the provisions before purchasing them. Neatly displayed in jars and containers, the smell of freshly-ground masalas permeates through the store. The different oils, ghee, pulses, rice, flours, pickles, soaps, personal care and home cleaning equipment are clearly labelled for easy identification.

“In our childhood, we bought provisions from the local kirana shop where the shopkeeper packed groceries in newspapers. I want to better this model by encouraging customers to bring their own bags and containers,” says Pankaj Sancheti, owner of the store. “Our idea is not to just sell plastic-free, but also procure it plastic-free,” says the owner.  Most of the items here have been procured locally to support local women entrepreneurs. Some of the products are snacks (khakras, mixtures, instant poha/upma), herbal teas, pickles, masalas and personal care products.

Parashar Kumar, a minimalist sustainable lifestyle practitioner lives in Gachibowli, but drives all the way here to buy his monthly ration. He says, “It is far, but not that far, considering I am able to find all my grocery package-free. I prefer to buy from his store to live a plastic-free life.” “We go once every two months,” says Radhika Rathan Gopal, a reiki practitioner who lives in Habsiguda. “As a family we have always been environmentally conscious. Haldi, kokum, poha, ragi, jowar, are some of the items I find of very high quality here.” Ganesh Netha, COO at a paper printing firm lives in Patny, makes regular shopping trips to this store with his family.

He says, “We have taken an oath not to use plastic bags. From oil to atta we buy the required quantity as these are not pre-packed. It helps to reduce wastage of food as well.”  Archana Maheshwari, a homemaker, says “Products like honey and haldi are particularly good.”“More than business, we would call it a social venture as we started this with the intention of contributing to environment protection, rather than just complaining,” says Pankaj, who runs the store with his wife Jyothi Sancheti and other partners. “Our vision is to eliminate unnecessary waste, particularly plastic waste – to help build a society without unnecessary packaging and preserving our environment from plastic pollution. These are mostly not recyclable and end up in landfills, water bodies or when burnt, pollute the air, water and soil,” says he.