Plastic Shopping Bags To Get More Expensive
In the Punjab Region the decision has been made by the Punjab Environment Protection Department to increase the weight of polyethylene shopping bags. The theory behind this is that, because of the extra weight of the bags, they will cost more to get and retailers will not be so willing to hand them out as freely as they now do.
The plastic bags are one of the major polluting agents in the country and even with the purchase of one egg the customer can get a free plastic shopping bag. They are so freely used because they are inexpensive and convenient. Experts estimated that the use of these bags turned out to be about 100 bags per consumer per month.
They said plastic bags were highly dangerous for the environment as they contaminate eatable with chemicals which subsequently result in a high incidence of disease when disposed, by burning it pollutes the atmosphere ands environment, if dumped it harm the agriculture, if dumped in rivers or sea; its hazardous for marine life and dumping on land choke up sewers and drains.
Naseemur Rehman, a senior EPD official said that the department is seriously working on the issue and engaged many experts from different educational institutions to get recommendations. He said presently shopping bags up to 30-micron weight/thickness are available in the market and the department is considering increasing the weight up to 60 micron. This will increase the cost of the plastic bags and will not be feasible for the shopkeepers to pack stuff in plastic bags so frequently.
Will this work? What would happen if the consumer were charged for the plastic bags they use? Would plastic bag use drop? What if stores gave credit to consumers who brought their own shopping bags?
