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Mumbai bans plastic bags, bottles, and single-use plastic containers

theguardian.com

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Re: Mumbai bans plastic bags, bottles, and single-use plastic containers

#51

Post by rubzah »

kamaal wrote: post #34

Officially, :) In reality we all know how this will go. If anything plastic use may now increase. Because it will now go unregulated. Bans in India need to be taken with a pinch of salt. They banned tinted glasses on cars. In Bangalore, some people prefer to pay fine/bribe than remove the sticker.

Agree. Anyone who has been to India knows how small a role regulations play in everyday life. Nobody cares. At most this will give a couple of corrupt police officers another opportunity to hand out 'fines'.

Re: Mumbai bans plastic bags, bottles, and single-use plastic containers

#52

Post by bladecatcher »

majewsky wrote: post #49

Honest question: What will plastic bottles be replaced with that's more environmentally friendly? I can easily see plastic bags being replaced by jute bags, but the only alternative material for bottles that I know of is glass, which does not seem like a good alternative given its weight and fragility (and possibly energy use during production).

http://www.algopack.com/indexgb.php makes bottles out of seaweed (brown algae) and there're other companies trying to make reuseable bioplastic bottles out of sugarcane

Re: Mumbai bans plastic bags, bottles, and single-use plastic containers

#53

Post by jakobegger »

WalterBright wrote: post #44

I'm a heavy amazon user, and am disappointed that they haven't eliminated plastic from the packaging. They use those inflatable plastic balloons (which are still far better than styrofoam peanuts), and they inexplicably use plastic bubblewrap mailers. On the news today they reported the tons of recyclable paper that nobody knows what to do with. It could be shredded and used for packaging instead of plastic.

It depends. In Austria, almost all Amazon stuff comes in a cardboard envelope, without any plastic.

Re: Mumbai bans plastic bags, bottles, and single-use plastic containers

#54

Post by nowarninglabel »

piyushpr134 wrote: post #33

Great to see that my city, Mumbai, is setting an example here. Plastic ban is a no brainer. People must move to either biodegradable carry bags and packaging or move to jute/steel/metal bags/utensils etc. Plastic would choke our world one day otherwise. At the same time, I know it would be huge pain for a lot of people. In Mumbai, it rains really heavy. Like really really heavy. It rains more than 2x it rains in Lond…

Agreed, this is great, though I'm in Nairobi and they have banned plastic last year, setting a great example.

Re: Mumbai bans plastic bags, bottles, and single-use plastic containers

#55

Post by tallanvor »

weavie wrote: post #4
ohnoesmyscv wrote: post #2

When will US cities do the same? Most restaurants offer plastic togo containers, which ends up in the landfill. Some restaurants even use plastic bowls and plates for dine-in customers, arguably so they don’t have to invest in equipment and labor to wash dishes. With The China recycling ban, this becomes more of a pressing issue. I’m surprised cities aren’t outright banning or imposing a tax on the use of plastics at…

An American family I visited a while ago would use paper plates and plastic forks for every meal at home to save on dishes. I was shocked, but they seemed to think it was standard behaviour in the US. Is it?

It's not really normal, but it's probably more normal than it should be.

Growing up, my family rarely used paper plates except in a few circumstances - parties where there are more people than you have plates for, and when going on a picnic. Aside from that we never used paper plates.

Re: Mumbai bans plastic bags, bottles, and single-use plastic containers

#56

Post by 0xFFC »

WalterBright wrote: post #45
andrewstuart wrote: post #25

Thank goodness somewhere is taking the obvious action of banning the packaging, which is really just pre-garbage. However, banning packaging only works if it is backed by a system for precisely standardised, refundable and washable containers that food and other products can be shipped in. You can't just say "no packaging". We need a MUCH better form of packaging than disposable/recyclable because recycling only work…

Better to use paper packaging. For food it can be waxed like in the olden days.

Doesn’t paper bags literally mean demand for more papers and consequently more jungle would be destroyed?

Re: Mumbai bans plastic bags, bottles, and single-use plastic containers

#57

Post by dssfgsgsgsdgds »

WalterBright wrote: post #44

I'm a heavy amazon user, and am disappointed that they haven't eliminated plastic from the packaging. They use those inflatable plastic balloons (which are still far better than styrofoam peanuts), and they inexplicably use plastic bubblewrap mailers. On the news today they reported the tons of recyclable paper that nobody knows what to do with. It could be shredded and used for packaging instead of plastic.

Where does the paper come from? Shouldn't that source also be eliminated? What is worse, cutting down trees or using plastic?

Re: Mumbai bans plastic bags, bottles, and single-use plastic containers

#58

Post by aryamaan »

rubzah wrote: post #51
kamaal wrote: post #34

Officially, :) In reality we all know how this will go. If anything plastic use may now increase. Because it will now go unregulated. Bans in India need to be taken with a pinch of salt. They banned tinted glasses on cars. In Bangalore, some people prefer to pay fine/bribe than remove the sticker.

Agree. Anyone who has been to India knows how small a role regulations play in everyday life. Nobody cares. At most this will give a couple of corrupt police officers another opportunity to hand out 'fines'.

I think the time will tell and it's better than having no regulations at all.

Btw, the consumption of alcohol in Bihar and other states where it's prohibated has reduced significantly- I am not advocating the ban of alcohol, personally I feel it's as a wrong move- after the regulations.

Re: Mumbai bans plastic bags, bottles, and single-use plastic containers

#59

Post by thomaslangston »

0xFFC wrote: post #56
WalterBright wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Better to use paper packaging. For food it can be waxed like in the olden days.

Doesn’t paper bags literally mean demand for more papers and consequently more jungle would be destroyed?

It is my understanding that paper isn't made from jungle tree species. An increased demand for paper would lead to an increase in tree farms in temperate climates, not tropical.

Re: Mumbai bans plastic bags, bottles, and single-use plastic containers

#60

Post by ainiriand »

0xFFC wrote: post #56
WalterBright wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Better to use paper packaging. For food it can be waxed like in the olden days.

Doesn’t paper bags literally mean demand for more papers and consequently more jungle would be destroyed?

Not really, new paper is mostly produced from recycled paper. What destroys the jungle is deforestation to create farmlands.
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