Delhi restaurants are moving towards a plasticfree future
Plastic — one of the cheapest materials in the world, is also one of the most polluting, and we consumers could do much to curb its use. August 1 being marked as this year’s Earth Overshoot Day — that’s the date on the calendar by which the planet’s population has consumed a whole year’s worth of resources — here’s a look at steps against ‘lifestyle plastic’.
Joining Maharashtra’s plastic ban recently was Uttar Pradesh, which implemented the ban on polythene, plastic cups and glasses from July 15. Odisha has also announced a similar ban from October 2. And Delhi, where the earlier plastic bans didn’t quite work, is now seeing a definite positive shift in retail and hospitality.
One of the most popular quick eating joints in the Capital, Wenger’s in central Delhi, has switched to wooden cutlery. Other places are using paper and steel straws, jute bags, and wooden cutlery. Sheet, marketing manager at Cocktails & Dreams, Speakeasy, comments, “We’ve switched to steel straws, although they’re a bit expensive (₹170 per piece) but they’re more durable than paper, plus we’re selling them too, so you can always carry your own straw wherever you go. We buy from a home-grown manufacturer that we know is also genuinely interested in reducing the carbon footprint.”
Restaurateur Aman Sahani, who has started using kulhads for shakes at his restaurant Dum Maro Dum, says, “The idea came from seeing the use of kulhad instead of disposable cups for tea on trains. This helps in reducing the use of plastic and indirectly helps in increasing employment of kulhad makers.”
Sonica Malhotra, joint managing director, MBD Group, comments, “We (at Radisson Blu MBD Noida) have stopped the usage of plastic bags and are only using paper bags and planning to move to jute bags. We have also eliminated the usage of plastic stirrers, and are using wooden cocktail picks instead.”
Talking about if green is the way to go now, environmentalist Abdullah A Rehman, says, “There isn’t a better time to do the right thing than now. It is inspiring to see states banning plastic. There is clearly a new wave in the mindsets of people and many of us are discussing sustainable living, but what’s most important is active participation in using an alternative [instead of plastic] or ensuring whatever plastic is used is being recycled!”