Plastic ban in Dimapur yet to be fully enforced

[caption id="attachment_272490" align="aligncenter" width="600"] Left to right: Mushrooms packed in non-woven carry bag and (now banned) plastic bag in a market in Dimapur on Thursday.[/caption] Eastern Mirror Desk Dimapur, Sep. 19: Nagaland government has imposed a total ban on single-use plastics in the state with an aim to combat the serious environmental and ecological challenges posed by rampant use of plastic items. The ban came into effect in Dimapur on September 18. However, two days since the imposition of the ban, it is still being used rampantly, especially in and around the markets of Dimapur. According to a Naga trader at the Super Market area, she was aware of the ban but due to the unavailability of the non-woven carry bag in the market, she continues using the single-use plastic bags. While another local vegetable seller mentioned that the price of the non-woven carry bags is very high compared to the usual plastic bags. A non-Naga grocery owner shared that he had bought the non-woven carry bag from Assam and Delhi since he had no knowledge about suppliers in Dimapur. According to him, the price for non-woven carry bag is INR 220 per kilogram in the market. He was optimistic that the price will go down once its availability in the market increases. The non-woven carry bag can carry less load compared to the usual plastic bags, another shopkeeper said.

The following single-use plastic products have been banned in Nagaland:

• All plastic carry bags, with or without handles, irrespective of thickness and size; • Plastic cutlery including plates, plastic cups, straws, stirrers etc. • Cutlery and other decorative made of Styrofoam (Thermocol) • Polythene • Nylon • Poly-Vinyl-Chlorides (PVC) • Poly-Propylene • Poly-Styrene.