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ShareBanglore: To reduce the harmful effects of the use of non-biodegradable plastic bags, which generate a lot of garbage in the urban areas, a student movement was launched in the city on Saturday. The initiative called Project Green VOICE was jointly launched by the VOICE for India -- a citizens' initiative, and students of Ramaiah Institute of Management Studies.
The project aims to introduce re-usable shopping bags made of non-woven material -- polypropylene at supermarkets, malls and general stores. According to VOICE, any medium sized departmental store in Bangalore would dispense about 10,000 bags of all sizes every month.
"We will talk to stores like More, Reliance Fresh and Metro to convince them to introduce these re-usable bags. These bags can be washed and re-used. Retail stores can give these away to consumers by charging a refundable deposit. This will ensure that the bags continue to be in circulation," said Arun, volunteer, VOICE for India.
The bags priced at Rs14 and Rs15 are more expensive than the polythene bags, priced at Rs4, but are durable. This way, retail stores can save between 30 per cent and 60 per cent on the costs incurred by using polythene covers.
"Besides highlighting the effects of the use of polythene covers, we provide a solution too. The re-usable covers are a good alternative to the plastic covers," he added. The organisers also plan to launch a website dedicated to the project shortly.
Students will help take Green VOICE project forward through e-mail campaigns and by adopting areas where this can be effectively implemented.
"The students will educate shop owners to use the re-usable bags and will give out samples. They will also adopt an area and create awareness among the public about the benefits of using these alternative bags," Arun told dna.sunday.
