The Elusive Facts!!!

Hyderabad : GHMC orders a total plastic ban

Posted by The Modern Buddha , Tuesday, July 12 19:53

Finally the much awaited ban - the ban on plastic.
It happened here, in the 5th largest metropolitan city w.e.f the month of July has been a big surprise to me. I have always been a supporter for this cause but truthfully i haven't seen many people who r sensible to this issue and to speak the truth much less the government. But i was shocked when yesterday i visited a bakery and asked him to pack a pastry and instead of the regular plastic cover he wrapped the pastry in a paper plate and gave it to me. I asked him the reason and he said that the govt has banned the sale of plastics weighing more than 40 microns ( yeah, i thought,  whatever that meant). He further added that if i wanted a polythene cover i should pay 2 rupees extra. (Damn!!!). I just cursed the guy and went my way.

But only today morning did i realize the burden of what he said. I visited the Reliance mall today and brought a couple of grocery things and when i went to the counter to pay for my things, i was told by the sales-girl there to fetch my own bag from the next time and since this was my first time I would be given a paper bag. Gosh, i thought, "this is serious".


And the next thing i knew, i was speed-googling "ban on plastics in Hyderabad" and this is what i found. I was surprised but at the same time quite thankful that the ban was being carried out quite effectively with no intervention. Finally people are beginning to realize the importance of conserving and protecting thew environment from us.

The Hindu : Cities / Hyderabad : GHMC backtracks from total plastic ban

Some plastic facts :

• 2007: World consumption of plastic is 100 million tons, but in the 1950s it was just 3 million tons.
• 1 ton of plastic represents around 20,000 two-liter bottles of water or 120,000 carrier bags
• In 2004 global consumption of bottled water alone was 154 billion liters.
• More than 1 million birds and 100,000 marine mammals perish each year by either eating plastic waste or becoming trapped in it.
• Plastic could take 500-1,000 years to break down.
• Plastic waste in India is about 4.5 million tons a year.