CHENNAI: Two years after the ‘Meendum Manjapai’ campaign was launched by the state government, a recent study has found that though it mainstreamed the issue of plastic pollution, the campaign has not adequately promoted cloth bags to eliminate the usage of single-use plastics.
The study conducted by Citizen Consumer and Civic Action Group (CAG) among 1,632 respondents across eight districts — Chennai, Coimbatore, Tiruchy, Madurai, Theni, Perambalur, Nagapattinam and Kanniyakumari — found that it is extremely challenging for vendors to switch to alternatives of plastic, primarily because of customers demanding free bag and the high-cost of alternatives.
The data collected from market vendors revealed that irrespective of the geographic area and type of product, usage of single-use plastic (SUP) bags is the norm and taking a cloth bag to shops is the exception. Many vendors had said that though they are aware of the dangers of plastics, the cost of alternatives, customer demand and peer pressure deter them from complying with the plastic ban.
The findings also indicate that the manjappai kiosks, albeit a great initiative, have not grabbed the public’s attention. The machines are available in limited places, mostly at district headquarters. And even the available ones are rarely in working condition, the study stated.
Respondents further expressed disappointment that the enforcement of the SUP ban unfairly focuses primarily on small vendors. They said the government needs to enforce the ban on multinational corporations as they are the major contributors of plastic pollution and since they continue to use SUPs despite their capabilities and financial resources to transition away.
The report was released during the inauguration of Citizen Consumer and CAG initiative ‘Climate Action Month 2024’ on Thursday. A series of events will be held across the city in August as part of this initiative.