To curb plastic menace, AMC to keep tab on manufacturers, sellers

The Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) is going to keep a record of plastic manufacturers and sellers in the city. In accordance with the latest bye-laws approved by the state government, the civic body will now keep a tab on all plastic manufacturers and whole sellers. The rule has been incorporated under 'Plastic Waste Management bye-laws for the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation', where it is mandatory to use/produce plastic with a thickness greater than 50 microns.

Now, manufacturers have to register themselves with the civic body, stating the details of their business. "Now, plastic manufacturers cannot produce items below 50 microns in the city. Violating the norms can land the culprit in trouble. There are provisions ranging from hefty fines to imprisonment," said a senior AMC official.

"The civic body, during the month of June, had kept a vigil on plastic manufacturers and has imposed fines on those violating the norms. Now, with the new introduction, the civic body will keep a proper register of all the business units in the city who are into the plastic business," said the official.

Earlier, the civic body had passed a resolution under their health and solid waste committee, banning the manufacture of plastic for goods such as plastic cups, water pouches and polythene. "When we banned those items, we had worked as per the state law and confiscated plastic items below 50 microns. We had seized more than 12 tonnes of banned plastic. The resolution was passed with an aim to reduce usage of plastic which were mainly blocking drains and catch pits, resulting in water logging during monsoon," the official added.

The ban has had a positive effect on the city, as was evident in the collection of plastic waste after this year's rath yatra. This year's figure stood at 500kg as against the usual average of around 12 tonnes.