State bans `thin' plastic bags...`goes slow' on order
Sanjay Banerjee / Times of India 16may01

PANAJI -- Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar issues a notification banning the manufacture of `thin' plastic bags. The `rollback' is almost immediate; the government `goes slow' on the notification.
Parrikar also slapped a levy on the non-biodegradable plastic following reports that plastic bottles and bags were strewn along the coast.

The Goa Small Industries Association is shocked as the `ban' order would affect 42 units and displace 400-500 employees.

The association is pursuing a dialogue with the government to allow these units continue production as these plastic bags conformed to the central government norms of 20 microns thickness.

``The government wants bags to be of 100 microns so that households can re-use them. The decision is fine but what about the units making them. Will there be a demand for such bags? How does one ensure 20-micron bags entering the state,'' asks association vice-president Suren Salgaokar.

The former president, Parag Joshi, said the Mumbai experiment of segregating garbage in plastic in certain areas has yielded positive results. Something like that can be implemented in Goa too.
Sources, however, said the government may not exactly insist on 100 microns but may insist that bags be slightly thicker to dissuade people from using them to dispose garbage. The government is willing to provide subsidy to anybody setting up such a plant to promote recycling of bags.

The association, along with Indian Centre for Plastic in Environment (ICPE), will educate the people on waste management. The Ministry of Environment & Forests has set up a task force to draft guidelines to deal with waste. One of the recommendations of the task force is the setting up of ICPE.

The ICPE will provide, monitor and promote social, environmental and technological inputs in respect of the plastic industry.

``To manufacture something thicker is a good suggestion but there is a way out as stated by study groups that if the waste is disposed systematically, the plastic bags can be recycled properly. At present, they are enmeshed in wet garbage posing a problem for proper disposal. In any case, milk sachets are recycled even if they are not of 100 microns,'' reasons Joshi.