MUMBAI, Sept 28: Consumer activists hopped onto the Kick Plastic bandwagon in a big way at Mahim. Around 100 members of the Grahak Hakka Parishad (GHP) confiscated over 5,000 carry bags from over 150 shopkeepers located on the stretch between Sena Bhavan and Mahim on Sunday.Displaying banners like `Love your Child - Don't Use Plastic Bags', the activists also handed out leaflets pointing out the health hazards caused by plastic carry bags. Chawl residents were informed about how discarded bags choke drain pipes, causing water logging during the rains. The activists also requested vendors at Gopi Tank Vegetable Market, opposite City Light theatre, Mahim, to stop selling commodities in plastic bags.The shopkeepers' argument is that clients pick up fights with them if they refuse to give them plastic bags along with goods purchased, said Dilip Donde, GHP secretary. ``Which was when we began seizing the bags from the shops.'' The activists were led by GHP president Dayanand Nene.The GHP plans to holdsuch rallies every Saturday in different parts of Mumbai. The next rally will take place between Sena Bhavan and Portuguese Church. The parishad may also file a Public Interest Petition seeking a ban on the manufacture and use of plastic bags, added Nene. It plans to tie up with Rotary clubs and supply cloth bags to families of the lower income group.On Monday, a workshop on plastic waste management, convened by plastic manufacturers, was held at Y B Chavan Centre. The closed door workshop reportedly discussed new guidelines on plastic packaging and packaging waste, mooted by a task force set up by the Central Pollution Control Board. The recommendations, presented to the Ministry of Environment and Forests in August last year, envisage the implementation of guidelines on plastic packaging and waste, establishing waste collection systems through pilot projects and setting up a network of industry associations to promote waste management and organised recycling.
