MCC, district administration urges public to quit using plastic

Mangalore Today News Network

Mangalore, Nov 15, 2012: The Mangalore City Corporation (MCC) and the district administration have urged the people of Mangalore to stop using plastic bags.

MCC Commissioner Dr. Harish Kumar urged the public to hand over garbage, along with plastic waste, since it will be soon launching its door-to-door garbage collection campaign. Urging people not to thrown their garbage and plastic waste on the street, he requested them to hand over waste items to the MCC, which will recycle this waste. He announced that the MCC will be separately collecting plastic and garbage from houses by Dec 31. Stating that the Supreme Court has ordered that cities should not have any garbage bins, he said that the MCC will be making a special effort to reduce the number of bins in the city.

DK Deputy Commissioner Dr. N. S. Channappa Gowda said that people should stop disposing their garbage in plastic bags, adding that people might stop doing this when MCC starts its door-to-door collection of garbage. Further, he said that wrapping garbage in plastic makes it difficult for MCC workers to segregate waste at the compost plant in Pachchanady. He said that garbage packed in plastic bags does not decompose, affecting the quality of compost produced in the plant. Usage of plastic in the city following the ban has fallen by 30 – 40 percent, he added.

He announced that 5 teams will tour different parts of the city in five vehicles, accompanied by 2 Home Guards and an MCC representative to check the use of plastic and impose penalties on those violating the ban. Fines of Rs. 100 will be imposed as a warning to offenders, and if the offenders continue using plastic, they will be booked under Section 291 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and larger penalties will be imposed on them.

He also said that he has discussed alternatives to packaging milk, which is presently sold in plastic packets, with authorities concerned.