COVID-19 leads to rise in single-use plastic in Vijayawada

VIJAYAWADA: Even as use of banned plastic carry bags is still in vogue in the city, the enforcement agency seems to be pardoning traders on humanitarian grounds due to the Covid-19 pandemic. 

After the Vijayawada Municipal Corporation (VMC) had implemented the plastic ban on January 1 last, around 15 tonnes of the plastic material was seized till March 31.

Though major outlets in the city have shifted to cloth bags, street vendors, flower shops and meat stalls are reluctant to abandon the ‘banned’ plastic carry bags. 

“A few outlets in One Town have limited stocks of cloth and jute bags. We are forced to shift to the banned plastic carry bags since we cannot afford to lose business during Covid-19,” K Satya, a flower seller near Gurunanak Colony, said. At the same time, he said vendors are aware of the guidelines issued by the VMC over the ban on single-use plastics. 

“However, the VMC should take steps to supply biodegradable bags as the vendors are ready to follow the guidelines,” he said.

Meanwhile, VMC officials said that Vijayawada generates around 550 metric tonnes of municipal solid waste per day, of which around 30 per cent is plastic waste. After the ban was enforced, the VMC has intensified surprise checks and penalised the traders for violating the ban. 

It collected fine worth Rs 20 lakh from the traders for violating the ban during raids. But since March, the municipal corporation has stopped conducting surprise checks as its employees are engaged in Covid-19 duties. 

Municipal Commissioner V Prasanna Venkatesh admitted to The New Indian Express, “We are aware that a section of traders still use banned plastic carry bags. Though there is no local production, plastic carry bags manufactured in other districts flow into Vijayawada. At present, we have adopted a wait and watch policy since the traders and vendors are reeling under the Covid crisis,’’ he said.

The VMC Commissioner said a meeting will be conducted shortly with traders associations and “we will ask them to follow the guidelines issued earlier with regard to single use plastic.” 

The VMC is also identifying the jute and cloth bag manufacturers in a bid to support the vendors and eliminate the single use plastics in a phased manner in the city, Venkatesh added.