Pradip Khatiwada, the program leader of No thanks! I Carry My Own Bag expresses his own horror at the news of the ban lift. He and his team had worked tirelessly with the concerned government bodies to enforce the planned ban of polythene bags in Kathmandu from April 14,- the beginning of the year 2072 BS, so he reveals he was absolutely taken aback by the baseless rumor spreading like wildfire.
"We immediately met up with the Environment Secretary and he was equally perplexed. Their division hadn't issued any such notices, so they too were clueless on how the false information was going around."
At the vegetable market in Chabahil, Meera Mahat claims that the ban lift was reported on the news itself. Apparently, the men who used to sell her plastic bags every morning on their bicycles had confirmed the ban lift.
"I had already bought cloth bags, and so had the other vendors around here. But a couple of days back the guys who used to sell us the polythene bags came back explaining that the government had allowed them to do so again for the next three months. They reasoned that the government was giving them time to finish up the stock of polythene bags which had already been manufactured. So we switched back to the plastic bags."
Slowly but surely, these rumors on the polythene bag ban lift are being dispelled with the help of media. There have also been recent cases where members of the government and the Metropolitan office have raided shops and seized the polythene bags in their possession. So despite this initial glitch, the operation to make Kathmandu a plastic bag-free zone should be back on track.
There's no denying the good intentions of the No Thanks! I Carry My Own Bag campaign. In theory, the general public concedes that their campaign would help improve the environment tremendously. But there's also no denying that the Kathmanduities are still skeptical about whether the plan to make the capital a polythene bag-free zone is a feasible one.
Established ventures like Bhatbhateni and Salesways may have had the resources and the foresight to jump on the bandwagon but small retailers and vendors have been feeling the pain. Janak Chaulagain sums up their concerns.
"I'm a butcher and I don't see how I can sell my meat without any plastic bags. Down two shops, Kanchha Dai runs a nursery. He too is still using polythene bags because without it he finds it impossible to transport his flowers and plants all the way from Bhaktapur. Even right next to me, Nirmala Didi sells sesame seeds. How is she supposed to sell such small miscellaneous items in a bag for which the customers will have to pay Rs 10? It's all very inconvenient," says Janak.
It's a feeling the general public seems to be having trouble shaking off. In fact, the enterprise head of Hamri Bahini - Biodegradable Bags, Seitu Hada agrees.
"Polythene bags have become such a staple in our lives that most can't imagine their lives without it. It's true. However, we only have to go back two decade or so, that people right here in our country were not introduced to bags made of plastics. My own father talks about how they used thungas made out of paper and how they used to take their own bag from home while grocery shopping. So using plastic bags is a relatively new bad habit of ours, one that can be broken," says Hada.
Further, she elaborates on the variety of alternatives becoming slowly available for all consumers. Similarly, there are the several business opportunities that the plastic ban is giving birth to. Plastic bags may have dominated a large portion of the market previously but now the demand for the likes of jute and cloth bags are increasing by the day. What's more, it's not only the private sector that's keen to capitalize on it, small household groups are also getting ready to meet the demand from their houses.
Such developments, however, have clearly not settled well with the Nepal Plastic Manufacturer's Association.
Santosh Kumar Sedhai, the General Secretary of the Association flat out confirms that they are against the polythene bag ban and they still have high hopes that the government as well as the Ministry of Commerce and Industry will rethink the decision. As it is, Sedhai claims that they weren't included in the decision-making process.
"We were cheated. What we had agreed on was the ban of 30micron plastic bags. We had even wholeheartedly cheered the decision. But later, with little deliberation, they raised the level of microns. They literally had just two meetings with us. How could they not realize that this decision will hamper many families as well as business worth crores. There will never be a cheaper alternative than plastic bags," said Sedhai. He also insists he isn't aware of who started the rumors of the ban lift.
Over at the Himalayan Climate Initiative, the program leader of No Thanks! I Carry My Own Bag Khatiwada says, "For a long time, the plastic businesses believed that the ban wouldn't be properly implemented. They scoffed at the idea and didn't take it seriously. But this is perhaps the first time an agenda has got 100% support of all political parties. Fortunately, lawmakers have understood the urgency to improve our environment. It's encouraging to see that they haven't succumbed to the pressures of the industries. They have decided not to leave any loopholes and use their powers to enforce a law which is eventually bound to prove beneficial to the country as well as the future generations."
Apparently, the decision to increase the level of microns in the plastic ban was taken after it was found that the 30micron mark wasn't making much difference to help the environmental problem. The polythene bags were still so thin that it wasn't profitable to collect them for recycling purposes. So they continued to litter Kathmandu.
Further, there was also the question of testing the level of micron. There was no way to know for sure that the businesses were abiding by the law. By increasing the mark to 40 microns now, it's visible to the eye whether or not the plastic bag is up to the required standards.
So, as the April ban continues, single polythene bag regardless of the color is set to be an illegal item in Kathmandu. The environment division of the Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment holds the official authority to seize and charge those who may choose to use polythene bags. The inspectors from the environment division plan to continue policing the situation.
In many ways, this is where the public have their say. The initiative to make our capital a polythene bag free zone has been taken. The government too has done its part by officially issuing the ban. However, amidst the prevailing confusion on the usage of plastic bags in the markets, the citizens at large get to choose whether they want to be part of a necessary change or not. It mainly comes down to being conscious of our own personal responsibility.
As Hada, Enterprise Head of Hamri Bahini puts it, "People think it's too much of a hassle to live without plastic bags. But in reality it isn't. I wish they would only try it. They could see for themselves. After all, there are such high stakes. We're trying to clean the mess of the previous generations here. For a better future, the practice of using plastic bags has to stop with us. It's not only about carrying our own bag; it's about fulfilling our responsibilities too."
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