Carry more tax with plastic carry bags

KOCHI: To give new impetus to the existing ban on plastic, the state government has proposed to increase tax on plastic carry bags.According to the state budget of the year, 20 per cent additional tax will be imposed on plastic carry bags while cloth carry bags will be exempted from it. During the budget announcement, the urgent need to reduce pollution caused by plastic was stressed upon.But whether the government decision will curb the menace is debatable, since most of the shops in the city as well as the city folks are unaware of the uniform minimum thickness that is mandatory while selling the plastic bags. Most of them continue to use plastic carry bags under 40 microns. As of now, there are no stringent measures by the corporation to ban them, though the corporation claims the opposite.Shopkeepers point out that enough carry bags in paper and cloth are not available in the market. Also since a majority of the customers come empty-handed, it would affect their business if buyers are not provided plastic carry bags. Sunny George, a shopkeeper in Kaloor says, “It is true that we should adopt the culture of using cloth carry bags, which once existed here. But then, we don’t have a viable alternative and the customers are ready to buy plastic bags for money.”The corporation decision to use the plastic waste for tarring the roads is garnering opposition from environmentalists. T K Ashraf, chairman, Health Standing Committee, Kochi Corporation has said that plastic waste collected from the shops will be used for tarring the road. Environmentalist Geo Jose disapproves of this move, saying that in long run, plastic granules containing 75 per cent dioxin used for tarring would cause environmental issues.Geo says, “There is a good possibility that a lobby promoting plastic exists within the city, and they could be in cahoots with the corporation. There has been no action on the part of the government to find the source of these non-degradable waste that are available in all forms like plastic straws, bottles, pens. All these are part of the hitherto existing use and throw culture.”