Triggered by complaints of choked drainage and storm water drains due to plastic bags, the Maharashtra Government has set in motion the process to ban the use, sale and manufacture of plastic bags in the State. The ban would be applicable to all types of plastic bags and pouches, but not water bottles. The government has set a timeframe of 30 days to deal with objections and suggestions from people on the issue, after which the cabinet would take a final decision. This ban is expected to come into effect on September 24, 2005.

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Mr. A. R. Parsuraman, MD, Marigold International has shared the following thoughts with www.plastemart.com
”In the process of "find the guilty" BMC has come out with a decision of banning plastic bags across the board. Six years back they banned all carry bags under 20 micron thickness. The attempt is similar to "burning the building for eradicating the rats". It's alarming to see that BMC makes the proverbial statement true. It is true that the plastic carry bags, being thrown recklessly creates nuisance value in the civic life. Being lighter it easily flies and gets into wrong places and create problems. Being lighter the littered bags do not motivate rag pickers to collect, since it has no proportionate economic value. In this whole scenario who is to be blamed? Littering is the stigma of our society. The habit of littering is the culprit. The innocent plastic bag is not to be blamed. In fact the plastic bag, per say plastics is the most eco friendly, nay, eco-saviour. Alternate packaging materials are really not the answer. Paper, glass and metal (alternate packaging materials) are all requiring high energy levels and have direct impact on the environment. Paper packaging would result deforestation, resulting ecological imbalance and metal and glass calls for additional
power plants (being energy intensive) causing greater environmental pollution....more

Mr. Roheit of New Line Plast has the following to say
When discarded without thought, plastic bags do indeed represent one of the most visible forms of litter. In addition to the aesthetic aspects, they have been associated with harming wildlife and blocking drains. In such circumstances one can be sympathetic to the calls for bans or taxes on such products to encourage the use of more eco-friendly materials. However, the ubiquitous plastic bag, provided free by the supermarket or fast food outlet does represent a very efficient use of resources compared to most alternatives, as it serves its purpose with only a minimum....more

www.plastemart.com team has made the following observations :
The government would like us to believe that the drains will be clean after the ban on bags is imposed in Maharashtra.
Here are three pictures ...more