Ban on plastic: Vendors change modus operandi

With the district administration and Mysuru City Corporation (MCC) enforcing strict enforcement of plastic ban, vendors have changed their modus operandi, in dealing with banned plastic items.

The vendors have shifted their stocks and also have changed the mode of transportation of banned plastic. Earlier, vendors used to store the items in godowns. Now, houses have turned into godowns. The vendors keep two to three packs of plastic in their shops as samples, to demonstrate to customers.

However, the MCC authorities have raided such stocks at some houses and have warned of stringent action against such illegal activities. The vendors have started storing banned plastic items at garages or cellar of houses and transport in private passenger vehicles, rather than goods, said MCC Environment Officer S Mythri.

The officials conducted a raid on the house of a vendor and seized plastic at Sunadakeri in Mysuru. He had stored the items in a room in his house and the authorities levied a fine of Rs 25,000 on him.

The MCC authorities have recovered 1,658 kg of plastic since April 1 and have collected Rs 45,000 as fine in Zone 6. One shop was locked for two days, but a fine was collected from the shopkeeper. The owner of the shop was away in Rajasthan and the worker claimed that he was not aware about the banned plastic. “We have warned him and cleared all plastic materials from the shop,” an official said.

There are no plastic manufacturing units in Mysuru. The items banned are: polythene covers, cups, spoons, plates, flags, banners, buntings, flex, cling films, items made of thermocol (polystyrene), and non-woven polypropylene bags. However, polypropylene (PP) can be sold with permission of Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB).

The officer said, "A dealer was supplying banned plastic to street vendors and shopkeepers. Thus, a drive was launched to check transportation of plastic from Bengaluru. Now, the vendors are using passengers vehicles for the purpose. They directly dump the items at houses, cellar or garage."

“The MCC had deputed staff to check trucks and lorries transporting banned items. But, we did not find any materials in these vehicles. We had written to KSPCB to check production units in Bengaluru,” Mythri said.

The Plastic Waste Management Rule was implemented in Karnataka in 2016 and the MCC authorities have been conducting several raids since then.