GHMC Now Approaches Businesses For Help To Eliminate Plastic

The GHMC today invited representatives of restaurants, hotels, sweet shops, bakeries, supermarkets and malls to be a part of its initiatives to encourage use of alternative items in place of single use plastic items.

During the meeting, the GHMC Commissioner B Janardhan Reddy asked the businessmen to be associated with the cause and encourage consumers to use jute bags, cloth bags and steel boxes instead of plastic bags.

Some 500 metric tons of single use plastic waste was being generated every day in the GHMC limits, and only 10% to 15% of it was being recycled, Reddy said. A lot of problems were arising due to this including pollution of overground and ground water, ecological imbalances, and obstruction to free flow of water in storm water drains. Plastic waste would take about 100 years to dissolve into the earth and presented a great challenge in disposal, he said.

The Commissioner appealed to the participants to provide, under CSR, crushing machines so as to recycle the wasted plastic to the maximum extent, and asked restaurants and marriage halls to have compost units to handle plastic waste generated. He also asked marriage hall owners to avoid single use plastic items including plastic spoons, water glass and ice cream cups.

The Commissioner also said that the restaurants, hotels, sweet shops, bakeries, supermarkets and malls should stop printing their logos on plastic carry bags and instead create awareness among the citizens about plastic pollution.

In response to the Commissioner's appeal, the representatives promised that they would take steps to reduce plastic consumption.

Representatives from D-Mart, Anil Trading Company, Ohri's, Shah Ghouse, Pista House, Taj hotels, Karachi Bakery etc. attend the meeting.