Bag an eco-friendly alternative to plastic at Bengaluru's Madiwala market

A campaign to raise eco-awareness at the Madiwala vegetable market was launched on Sunday to mark International Plastic Bag Free Day.

'Cheela Mela' was organised to encourage market-goers to carry their purchases in cloth bags.

"We urged people to bring their old, obsolete clothes and have them made into cloth bags by the tailors present at two locations in the market," said Veerendra S V of Saahas, a non-profit waste management organisation.

"The tailors came from a self-help group and chose a DIY (do it yourself) approach to make the bags. The DIY style will allow people to replicate them easily," he added.

"Pre-made, upcycled cloth bags made from old banners were also distributed to customers who were buying vegetables in plastic bags," Veerendra stated. "There were over 300 people who came to get their cloth bags made," he added.

In addition, 500 reusable cloth bags were distributed for free in the market.

'Eco-friendly but costly'

Even as student volunteers informed market vendors about the ill effects of single-use plastics and organised a street play to educate the crowd, shop owners felt that giving out cloth bags would be too expensive and they would rather use thicker micron plastic bags, on which no ban is imposed.

"A kilo of plastic bags (about 180 units) costs somewhere between Rs 150 and Rs 180, while a single cloth bag costs Rs 10," said a vendor.

The campaign was a part of the NAMA Facility project called 'Circular Waste Solutions', which is implemented by the BBMP in partnership with GIZ India, a German Development Agency, and Saahas.

The nodal ministries for the project are the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change and the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs.