10 Days For Ban To Take Effect But No Magic Wand To Make Plastic Vanish

SINGLE-USE MENACE: For Roadside Vendors & Small Shopkeepers, Alternatives Not Feasible

- Priyangi Agarwal

New Delhi: Only 10 days are left for the ban on 19 items made of single-use plastic to come into effect. At the moment, these items are still being widely used in the city markets. While shopkeepers assured they would use alternatives to plastic bags from July 1, roadside vendors who use plastic plates, glasses, forks and spoons are apprehensive about the additional expense they would have to bear for substitutes.

At Sarojini Nagar Market, many eateries are still using single-use plastic plates and cutlery. Beverage seller Rahul Jha said, "The wholesaler has informed us that plastic cutlery is banned from July 1. There is a big price difference in plastic items and their alternatives. We buy a plastic glass at Rs 3 apiece. The one made of cardboard is priced at Rs 5. We pay Rs 25 for a pack of 150 plastic straws but will have to pay Rs 40 for just 50 cardboard straws."

Another juice seller, Yatin, said tha his would affect their business income because there would be a lesser margin on the price of Rs 3060 per glass that they sell at.