Plastic-free weddings with free steel utensils

From invites to wrappers, weddings contribute to wastage and garbage.

The BBMP has just banned the use of plastic and banana leaves in wedding halls.

Manoranjan Hegde, Chief Health Officer, BBMP, says all marriage halls in Bengaluru have been notified about the ban.

“Every ward has a senior health officer who makes surprise visits to the wedding ceremonies and checks on the implementation of the ban. If the ban is flouted, the hall owner is fined Rs 25,000,”

Subsequent violations could invite penalties of up to Rs 1 lakh, he warned.

Raveendra TC, founder of Indus Herbs, welcomes the ban on plastic in wedding halls. “I have witnessed many eco-friendly weddings and I think this is a great step towards a better future,” he says.

If banana leaves are segregated properly, there is no need to ban them as they are not harmful to the environment, he says.

Adamya Chetana, an NGO that runs a ‘plate bank’ in Bengaluru, lends steel plates, tumblers, cups and spoons for weddings and other events.

The non-plastic initiative is rapidly gaining momentum in the city.

Venugopal Rao of Adamya Chetana says, “We lend steel utensils by collecting a deposit, For example, it is Rs 40 a plate. So if 1,000 plates are borrowed, we take Rs 40,000. Once all utensils are returned, we return the full deposit.”

Nandikesh Sivalingam of Greenpeace says, “Though this initiative is good, there are other things that need to be taken care of. Just banning plastic in wedding halls will not serve any purpose.” He suggests people carry their own cloth bags for shopping.

Envirofriendly is a platform that promotes neatly packaged saplings as return gifts at weddings. Girish Naik from Envirofriendly says saplings make better return gifts than coconuts and plastic items.

Hosts can choose from about 15 varieties of plants to give away.

Eco-friendly initiatives:

Adamya Chetana
Free plates for weddings against a deposit.
Call: 080 2662 0404

Envirofriendly
Choice of 15 saplings, packaged as return gifts.
Call: 91418 74551.