SANJAY NAGAR : During a cleanup drive, residents of Sanjay Nagar found it hard to segregate plastic bags from other waste. That's when they came up with the idea of cloth bag rentals.
If you shop for groceries in this locality, look out for the yellow Rent-A-Bag board outside. Vendors collect a deposit of `5 to `20 — depending on the size — and give you a cloth bag to take home. The deposit is refunded when you return the bag.
"When we segregated the waste, we found that polythene bags, mixed with other waste, make sorting difficult," said Vignan Gowda, an IT sector employee and one of the initiators of the project.
So this led him and his fellow residents to think of ways to eliminate the not-so-eco-friendly bags altogether. "We thought we could clear the mess by replacing the bags," he said.
The group has invested `17,000 to buy 1,500 non-woven cloth bags, all of which they have distributed free of cost to shop owners and vegetable vendors who agreed to be a part of the pilot project.
Srinivasa Murthy (78), a resident of Raj Mahal Vilas, still carries a cloth bag from home, just like in the old days. But he is appreciative of the initiative, which he feels could benefit those who forget their shopping bags at home.
"When we were young, everything would be either packed in newspapers or put into cloth bags. Times have changed, and carrying colourful polythene bags has become a matter of prestige, and people are too lazy to carry bags from home. Shopping which was once a festive affair, has become a weekend affair, resulting in more polythene bags," he said.
Nagarani, who also carries her own shopping bag, is in support of the initiative too. "This could help reduce the health hazards of plastic bags." N V Chalapathi, another customer, said this initiative could help increase awareness about the harmful effects of polythene bags and inculcate the habit of carrying cloth bags among those who don't.
However, some vendors aren't too happy. Govind Raj, who sells vegetables, told City Express that only the first 150 reusable bags are given to them free of charge. “We need to pay for whatever we take after that."
This doesn't pose a problem in transactions with regular customers, he added. "So long as the customers pay for the bags, I am happy to be part of the project."
But when one-time customers turn up, they often don't want to pay for the bag, he rued.
"What such customers buy barely comes up to a kilogram. And then we have no choice but to use plastic bags."