Discussion on Plastic Bags Ban : The UseMeAgain campaign
Hosted by eCoexist, Oikos and Ecological Society
 
Friday 22 Sept 2017, Venue: Ecological Society
 
The first discussion on the Plastic Bags situation and possible complete ban was attended by around 25 people some of whom are already actively involved in addressing the situation and others who would like to join.
 
INTENTION
This meeting was called as a response to the announcement by the Govt of Maharashtra that it would completely ban all plastic carry bags by March 2018. For the purpose of this group we are going to stay focused on just one plastic waste – namely plastic carry bags. We intend to bring a group of citizens and NGOs together to implement this. 
 
Laws Regulations Bans 
 
Parameters Recycled Plastics
Manufacture &
Usage Rules
               2002 		Plastic Waste Management
Rules
2011		 Plastic Waste Management
Rules
                     2016
Micron Limit No 40 50
Action group No Mostly Municipal Authorities One and all
Rural Inclusion No No Yes
Extended Producer Responsibility No Left to discretion of Local Bodies Producers and Brand owners given more responsibility
Source Segregation No Not strictly mandated Officially mandated
Accountability Least Less More
Stakeholder Vendors Vendors, Producers Every waste generator
Provision for Phasing out Plastic No No  
Maharashtra Non-Biodegradable Garbage(Control)Act ,2006 Maharashtra Plastic Carry Bags (Manufacture and Usage) Rules, 2006.
No littering Responsibility of State Pollution Control Board and Industries Department
Restriction on non biodegradable material Recycled plastics not allowed for food storage
Recycling mandated Virgin plastic has to be in white
Authority to inspect and intervene Not less than 50 microns
Penalty to violaters Self Regulation by All India Plastic Industry Association
Do Bans on Plastic Bags work?
  • Top down directive
  •  Forces sudden change
  •  Reduces consumer choice
  •  Too simplistic
  •  Triggers avoidance strategies
  •  Results in disbenefits to environment and economics
  • Usually imposed in place of a holistic waste management strategy
 
When do bans work?
  • Post disaster – when communities see the need for the ban
  •  In smaller countries where enforcement is easier
  •  When consumers take the ownership of the issue
 
Discussion of Sikkim as a success story
 
If not a ban then what?
  • Reduction strategies
  •  Recycling strategies
  •  Litter management
  •  Seggregation habits and processes
 
What kind of bans exist?
  • Bans on material ( non bidegradable materials )
  • Bans on thickness ( micron limits)
  • Bans on usage ( litter management )
  • Bans on disposal
  • Bans on manufacture 
From awareness to behavioural change
Gurudas Nulkar spoke about the importance of taking people from simply being aware of an issue towards a pro environmental behavioural change.
Common attitudes towards plastic bags
 
In the sharings from the participants it came to light that there are many attitudes towards plastic bags that would need to be addressed by any education or awareness raising efforts
  1. It cant be so bad – else the government would have banned it – don’t make such a big deal about it
  2. Just one person changing doesn’t make any difference so why should I care?
  3. I am doing so many other things to help the environment so its ok if I use a plastic bag
  4. I have so many things to handle in my life – I cant be bothered
  5. You should be giving us a bag for free
  6. We don’t know where to get alternatives to plastic bags
  7. I don’t mind paying a penalty if I have to
  8. I am being responsible – I do reuse my plastic bags – I line my trash can with them
  9. If I am paying rs 5 per bag and my taxes the government should take care of the disposal
  10. I don’t want to lose my customers so I have to do it
  11. As long as its above 50 microns its ok
 
These attitudes could be reflecting a helplessness about the locus of control, a feeling of unfairness, refusal to take responsibility, and the unwillingness to make more efforts. Attitudes could be negative, indifferent or positive.
 
Barriers
 
To understand why people find it difficult to change behavior it is important to identify what are the barriers they may be facing. These could be cultural, social, economic or political.
 
Benefits
 
Similarly to help them make this behavioural change , if we can convey to them the benefits of this change it would help. The perceived or actual benefits can be financial, non financial, altruistic, moral or aspirational.
 
Sustaining change
 
And once the behavioural change has been made, it would have to be sustained by consistent behavior. This change has to be supported by a sense of belonging.
 
This model of behavioural change has to be run on all stakeholders to really understand the scope of what it would take to reduce plastic bag usage. A plastic bag manufacturer would face different barriers to changing his livelihood than a government official to changing a policy. The success of a plastic bag ban is not just about changing consumer choices.
Initiatives / Alternatives 
Madhavi Sardeshpande, Sus Road
Old sarees are collected as donations. And from one saree 15-18 bags are done by ladies in slums who have a sewing machine. They get rs 3/- to 4/- per bag. And we sell to the shopkeepers at rs 4/-  the shopkeepers sell to customers at rs 5/-  we provide banners and posters to shops. And thrice a month we remind residents of the area to keep buying saree bags from shops. Volunteers help in marketing too.  If a society has some shops below it; one resident takes the responsibility to regularly supply saree bags in bundles of 10 to the shops.  The resident becomes the stock keeper.  So we have to only give in bulk to him.  We focus on one area at a time. Currently only baner pashan Link Road is covered.  To Change the mindset of all customers and shops is difficult. But if PMC is strict on collecting fines from shops for plastic bags. And also non woven bags and also PMC distributed pamphlets which lets shops know where to get the cloth bags from; then the scenario will change.  
They are open to donation from sarees. 8000 bags have been distributed by them so far. Sarees are easy to cut – they have standardized two sizes – one exactly similar to carry bag and one slightly larger.
Marketing of bags has been encouraged with help from Sustainable Living , Vasundhara and Organic food shops. Their main challenge is to balance demand and supply. Her bags are mainly for road side vendors.
 
Contact detail: [email protected]
 
Aarohana EcoSocial Developments
Aarohana works mainly in the domain of recycled plastic and this includes plastic carry bags,gift wraps and plastic wrappers.
Every item of their modern and trendy product lines employs recycled products and the uses range from office design to home decor.The founders also incorporate the need to awareness and conduct awareness activities likewise
The Price ranges from Rs.200 to Rs.2000 and provides a noble livelihood to their own cottage industry.
[email protected]
 
Poornam ecovision
 
In the arena of plastic bags,they offer solutions by providing upcycled alternatives from waste cloth and paper as well as conducting awareness campaigns and training programs for recycling.
The paper bags range from Re.1 to Rs.10 and the cloth bags range from Rs.10 to Rs.400.The sizes are variable and the self help groups that the foundation works with is paid reasonably in accordance with the type of product sold.
 
[email protected]
 
Eco Ad
Eco Ad has been promoting the use of newspaper bags to replace plastic bags. They invite corporate groups to use the newspaper bags as an advertising tool and this pays for the cost of making and distributing the bags.
The bags have a carrying capacity of 2 to 6 kgs  and can be reused several times.Their price range of these bags start at Rs.10 and are manufactured by small self help groups of women trained by EcoAds.Every bag sold provides Re.1 to the women who work for them.The designs are simple as well as trendy and come in various sizes of 8*8 to 17*10. Newspaper bags are not feasible for wet foods – also inks can cause contamination of foods.
 
[email protected]
 
eCoexist
eCoexist started the UseMeAgain campaign in 2010 – although they began with the thought of newspaper bags they quickly realized that the single use mentality itself had to be changed and hence their campaign and bags are called UseMeAgain – they focus mainly on cloth – cotton and canvas bags – these provide an income to womens self help groups and are sold in the mainstream markets – through a retail network with educational messages or in bulk with branding on them. They have been consistently studying the plastic bag issue and are currently mentoring students abroad to study the plastic bags situation in the UK and Australia to see how these countries have succeeded or failed in finding a solution to the problem. You can see their bags at www.clothbagsindia.com and a website under construction at www.usemeagainblog.wordpress.com They have also explored the potential of crafts using plastic waste in our campaign on recycling called The Beauty of Recycling .
 
Contact: [email protected]
Challenges in promoting alternatives
 
Challenges in promoting alternatives
  1. There was a problem supervising the cloth bags that they had provided to the shop keepers – they had hoped that they would be able to recover the money but this didn’t happen
  2. The newspaper bags that had been supplied were kept away by the merchants
  3. Merchants were hesitant to charge for bags as they were worried to lose their clients
  4. Merchants could not understand the economic benefits from cloth bags being supplied by vendors
  5. Large malls don’t allow you to reuse their own plastic bags the next you time come shopping
  6. Customers are asking for a separate plastic bag for each vegetable item
  7. Malls don’t allow you to carry your own bags inside the mall
  8. Vegetable vendors raise price of vegetables to recover price of plastic bags – passing on the cost to consumers
  9. Current penalties are small and only financial so the vendors don’t mind them
  10. Financial models of alternatives are not sustainable as a green business
 
NON WOVEN BAGS
 
It is being seen that people / shops are replacing the plastic bags with non woven material ( which is basically Poly propylene )
Consumers believe that this material is a fabric and eco friendly
It is cheaper than cloth and therefore the shift from plastic to non woven is easier than shifting to cloth
Although Sikkim has managed to ban plastic bags there has been a big shift to non woven bags.
Some states in India are now beginning to recognize that non woven material is 90% plastic and therefore needs to be banned as much as plastic carry bags as it will never become compost.
 
BIN LINERS
 
One of the most common ways in which consumers ‘reuse’ plastic bags is to use them as bin liners. The concept of lining a trash can with a plastic bag is a recent phenomenon and was possibly introduced by the plastic bag industry itself.
To the dry waste,they add more of plastic and to the wet waste they contaminate or choke the organic matter which could actually serve as cattle food or compost or energy as biogas. Food that is thrown away in plastic bags causes death of stray animals who eat the plastic bag in an effort to get to the food within it.
A dominant aspect that encourages this behaviour is the want of sophistication in garbage disposal and a door to door collection system that may be erratic and inefficient.The role of a bin liner can be made redundant by either boycotting this unnecessary practice completely or switching to a better alternative of using paper bin liners.
Washing the dustbin once a week is better than using a bin liner all week long. If wet waste is composted at home, the need to throw it away can be eliminated altogether. Dry waste does not soil the bin and does not need a liner at all. 
Recommendations
(from the Toxics Link study on Plastic Bags ban in Delhi, Chandigarh and Sikkim)
 
Strict monitoring and application of law
Strict monitoring is required for the ban to be effective. Random checks, spot fines and seizures of the plastic bags—these measures, on a regular basis, can act as a deterrent, especially for the small vendors. The penalty amount should be sizeable and could be raised on repeat offences, thereby discouraging usage.
 
Participatory approach
The regulatory agencies should invite different groups and assess their problems in the implementation of the ban. It is important to understand the user perspective and in this case it will be important to understand the resistance from the vendors. This will help in planning action as well as resolve the bottlenecks.
 
Alternatives to plastic bags
For the purpose of establishing sustainable practices, the true goal is to eliminate all single-use practices, whatever the use, whatever the material being used. Towards this end, practices that encourage multi-use materials, such as reusable bags made of cloth or other durable materials help decrease dependence on non-renewable resources, while contributing towards the overall zero waste goal.
Serious efforts should be made to find sustainable and eco-friendly alternatives to plastic bags. The government can promote the alternatives through financial and other incentives. It is recommended that a detailed feasibility study on alternatives be carried out and the best types earmarked for mass production and distribution.
 
Check on inter-state movement
Though the production, sale and usage of plastic bags are banned in some states, plastic bags continue to come in from other states where there is no ban. A stricter monitoring of this will be highly effective in curbing the usage.
 
Comprehensive waste management policy
The plastic bags ban should not exist in isolation. Instead, the ban should be part of a well thought out futuristic Solid Waste Management Policy that aims to substantially reduce and recycle plastics, while eliminating those types that cannot be recycled.
 
Awareness and education
The most effective strategy to reduce the use of plastic bags and plastic wastes is to bring about behavioural changes in people. Continuous use of promotional material such as posters and hoardings should be put in appropriate public places. Consumers should be encouraged and motivated to always carry their own reusable shopping bags. Civil society organisations should be engaged for the IEC programmes.
 
Next Steps
  1. Create a core group to define the vision for the larger group – define an achievable goal with a deadline so that the activities of the group are focussed. Eg.
    1. Goal: Reduce Plastic bag usage by x% over the next y months
    2. Gather information from the ground
    3. Research the stakes and concerns of each stakeholders
    4. Define an action needed for each stakeholder
    5. Plug in currently existing activities into a matrix of actions required at various levels
  2. Present this vision to the group at the next meeting – scheduled for the 14th Oct (request to be timed from 5 to 8 )
  3. Create a timeline with milestones to aim for over the next one year.
  4. Create a questionnaire to collect detailed inputs from all participants about their efforts and the challenges they face
  5. Create a whatsapp and an e group to continue the discussions
  6. Reach out to progammes like Jaago Grahak Jaago and to the Ministry of Consumer Affairs as well as the Confederation of All India Traders
  7. Need to do more research into the history and chronology of bans in India