Traders beat ban with polybags stamped ‘approved’

BAGS LESS THAN 50 MICRONS THICK ARE HARDER TO RECYCLE AND SEPARATE FROM TRASH, AND OFTEN CLOG THE DRAINS

NEWDELHI: Polythene carrybags with fake ‘approved’ stamps are increasingly being found in Delhi’s markets, civic authorities have said, raising fears that some manufacturers and retailers are evading stringent new rules that are meant to combat the decades-old problem of plastic pollution by outlawing bags thinner than 50 microns.

Officials in South and East Delhi Municipal Corporation said that in several of their raids on shopkeepers, they came across bags with blue stamps mentioning the thickness to be more than 50 microns, but a measurement showed them to be thinner.

Plastic bags are regarded as the biggest challenge to waste management since their use is ubiquitous and destruction near impossible. Bags less than 50 microns thick – roughly as thick as a human hair – are harder to recycle and separate from trash, and they often end up clogging sewage lines and being consumed by stray cattle.

Some traders said they were themselves fooled into acquiring banned bags by manufacturers. “We are aware that plastic bags less than 50 microns are banned in Delhi. Hence, we asked our supplier for bags more than 51 microns. We got bags with the word ‘approved’ stamped on it, but when civic officials came and measured them, they were found to be less than 51 microns. We were slapped a penalty of ₹5,000,” said a shopkeeper in an East Delhi locality, asking not to be identified.