Now, hotels to face the heat for use of plastic

Restaurants and hotels should use eco-friendly containers instead of plastic ones, mayor Gangambike Mallikarjun said.

Speaking during the special mela organised by the BBMP at Freedom Park on Thursday, the mayor said the Palike was striving hard to make the city a plastic-free zone.

“We have already instructed everyone to avoid plastic carry bags. Hereafter, the restaurants and hotels should use only sugarcane fibre containers to parcel foods for their customers. If they fail to do so, their licenses will be ceased, and hefty penalties slapped on them,” the mayor said.

As a part of the second phase, the usage of plastic for packing will be banned. This will happen gradually, the mayor said.

At the special mela, more than 50 non-plastic items were exhibited, thus giving ideas to the citizens about the substitutes they can choose for plastic utilities.

The exhibition aims to create awareness among people about the ill-effects of using plastic, and to encourage them to switch to non-plastic items in their everyday life.

Some of the non-plastic items on display include paper and cloth bags, beetle nut trays, glass and steel-made utensils, plates, cups and tumblers made out of banana leaves and sugarcane fibre, wooden and steel scoops and various other eco-friendly items.

Entry for the mela is free for the public.

“There are complaints that the prices of environment-friendly products are high in the market. The prices may gradually decrease as everyone starts using them,” the mayor added.