Action by Pune Municipal Corporation against banned plastic falters

PUNE: While the civic body has started a competition urging people to recycle plastic bottles, it seems to be going slow when dealing with the overall nuisance, with a decline in collection of non-degradable items.
The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) had collected 1,092kg plastic in December 2022, which decreased to 117kg in January and 125kg in February this year. Civic activists and environmentalists have demanded some consistency in PMC action to curb misuse of plastic and reduce its impact on the environment.
As per data with the civic administration, it has collected 8,306kg of plastic since April 2022 till date. The highest collection was in July 2022, at 2,447.6kg. Over 599 cases in this regard have been filed in the last 11 months, and fines of around Rs33 lakh collected in total.
"Overall awareness about the use of plastic has increased. It has led to a decline in usage. PMC has not reduced any manpower attached to ward offices for confiscation of banned plastic," said Asha Raut, head of PMC's solid waste management department. However, she added that the civic administration is conducting different drives to improve solid waste management in civic areas, and the staff attached for action against plastic is multitasking.
Environmentalist Vaishali Patkar opined that more efforts are needed to create awareness about the problems caused by banned plastic. "PMC should intensify its action in that direction. Non-degradable plastic causes major hazards to the environment. Action against those producing such material should be taken, and those promoting and selling it. The drives should be a regular feature," she said.