Bhubaneswar: After declaring Kochilei Market in Rasulgarh plastic-free last year, Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) is set to extend its anti-polythene initiative to two more major markets in the city — VSS Nagar and Damana. BMC issued a notification in this regard, asking its officers to take steps to phase out plastic bag use in the market.BMC additional commissioner Kailash Chandra Dash said the initiative will begin with a seven-day awareness campaign in both the markets that will include educating the customers and the vendors about the use of alternate carry bags. “We will run an awareness campaign for seven days, following it up with enforcement for seven days,” said Dash.BMC officials said customers without a bag will not be allowed entry unless they purchase biodegradable bags made available at the market entrances. “The vendors will also be asked to keep biodegradable bags. Additionally, the non-veg shops will be asked to keep alternate carry bags,” Dash added. After observation, a certificate will be issued designating the market as plastic/polythene-free.“Freeing the regular markets of single-use plastic will only lead to reduction in the load of single-use plastic waste in municipal solid waste and increase dependence on alternate carry bags such as paper and cotton,” Dash said, adding that reducing plastic usage in these busy markets will significantly cut down the city’s municipal solid waste.After the success in the Kochilei market, the association members put up plastic-free market boards at entry and exit. This further helped people to know that the market no more encourages polythene bags. The BMC wants to use the success of Kochilei and the two proposed markets as examples to take its plastic-free campaign forward.BMC officials said despite efforts to check polythene carry bags, plastic waste accounts for 60% of Bhubaneswar’s daily dry waste, with items like multi-layer packaging, polythene bags, and PET bottles being major contributors.
