Cost and availability make it hard to oust plastic bags

NEW DELHI: Three years after the use of plastic bags was banned, white thin plastic covers continue to proliferate in city markets. Though major book stores and coffee outlets switched to paper bags after the high court ruling in 2009, local markets with mid-level traders are still teeming with violators.At the time of implementing the ban, the Delhi government had also ensured the closure of several plastic manufacturing units to check its supply. But plastic bags managed to find their way back into grocery stores, sweet shops and vendors’ stalls. And it seems like they’re here to stay. Traders prefer plastic bags since they are cheap and easy to procure. “Often customers do not carry their own bags so we are forced to give them plastic bags which cost merely 60p per bag. Most customers demand a carry bag even if they buy just one product. We can’t afford cloth and paper bags — which come at a price of Rs 3-4 — given our profit margins,” said a trader at a market in CR Park. Plastic works for vendors too because it is a cheap packaging material that is easily available. “We get polythene bags from wholesale markets in Azadpur and Sadar Bazaar,” said a hawker at the market opposite Pallika Bazaar. Shopkeepers at grocery and crockery shops in Batla House market agree. They feel that using paper bags is not a feasible option. “If someone buys a heavy crockery item, a paper bag will not be able to take its weight. Also, there are no takers for jute bags which are bigger and costlier,” said Abdul Rehman, a store owner. For many customers, it is not convenient to carry a bag every time they shop. “It is cumbersome to carry a bag each time I make a trip to the local market. If I buy 10 or 20 twenty items, I require more than one bag. It’s just easier to purchase the bag,” said Sanjana Mishra, a shopper at Community Centre, New Friends Colony.However, departmental store chains advise customers to carry their own bags. While paper bags and net bags are available for free at outlets like Big Apple, they hardly suffice in cases of large-scale purchases. The other option available for customers is to buy jute bags at a price of Rs 5-10 each but most customers complain about the extra charges. “We provide the option of buying the bags from customers once their purpose is over,” said Gagan Malik, director of a departmental store in Greater Kailash. Despite warnings, traders at MCD registered markets continue to sell their wares in plastic bags. “We issue notices from time to time but we are not the controlling authority. There is rampant use of such bags in the market,” said an official of the traders’ welfare association, Central Market, Lajpat Nagar.