Life is plastic

The sudden awareness of the evils of plastic bags and articles among the political guardians of Maharashtra — and a section of environm...

The sudden awareness of the evils of plastic bags and articles among the political guardians of Maharashtra — and a section of environmentalists — after the July 25 deluge in Mumbai, is understandable.

But quickfix solutions are not the way out. The issue needs to be faced and solved on rational and practical grounds. In this age and day, a total ban on plastic bags and articles — as envisaged by the current order of the Maharashtra government — may be idealistic, but it is certainly not practical.

Can we go back to getting milk in returnable glass bottles or have milkmen bring milk in cans to our doorstep, and measure and dole it out? Can we go back to packing edible oils and other such liquids in tins instead of plastic sachets? In these days of super markets, where customers can see, pick and shop for foodgrain and pulses very quickly, can we go back to the days when they were measured out in paper cones? Without seeing the articles through transparent plastic packing, how can consumers decide what they really need?

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True, the use of plastic bags and articles has to be controlled and reduced. As suggested by the government earlier, plastic sheets and bags below a specified thickness should not be used. People in general should be educated on the need to segregate plastic bags and articles while discarding them. Even as per municipal statistics, the volume and weight of plastic material in the municipal garbage every day is a small percentage of the total tonnage collected. Surely Mumbai’s municipal authorities can find a way to dispose this properly?

Plastic material was not the cause of the unfortunate events of July 26. The situation was created by the negligence and apathy of the municipal authorities who allowed the drainage system to get clogged.