COIMBATORE: The cloth bag manufacturing business which picked up after the State government in 2019 announced a ban on single-use plastic has lost steam with single-use plastic making a comeback.
Those who entered the business after the plastic ban are moving to other businesses such as manufacturing of coverall, gloves and face masks after the COVID pandemic struck.
K Moorthy, proprietor of Maruthamalayan Traders, said, "The boom in cloth bag business did not last long as the ban on single-use plastic has not been enforced strictly. We suffered loss of about Rs 20 lakh even before the pandemic spread as people started using polythene covers. Therefore, we ventured into the business of making personal protective equipment (PPE) kits, face masks and gloves."
Recalling that his concern made a turnover of Rs 5 lakh by supplying cloth bags to a popular store in the State, Moorthy said they were not receiving any orders from within the State anymore. "For now, we are supplying cloth bags to Karnataka, Kerala and Uttar Pradesh," he added.
Chairman of Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) AV Venkatachalam admitted that single-use plastic bags found its way back into the markets. He said the Union government's Plastic Waste Management Amendment Rules 2021 would prohibit the use of single-use plastic items by 2022, which could revive the fortunes of cloth bag makers.