VIJAYAWADA: The usage of cloth bags are in full-swing after the ban on single-use plastic. However, environmentalists and experts on plastic consider them to be as polluting as their banned counterparts as they contain polypropylene; the material used to manufacture polythene.
Speaking to TNIE, scientist and environmentalist Ajay Katragadda said, “These so-called eco-friendly bags are manufactured by combining cotton, a degradable fabric with a non-biodegradable polymer i.e. plastic. Products like polypropylene and polyethylene are highly ductile and can be drawn into fine threads, some almost indistinguishable from those made from natural fibres.”
People generally get these bags through food deliveries, vegetable vendors and from grocery stores. These bags are translucent, having the same look and feel of a cloth bag but more hardy, making them an excellent choice for carrying heavy weights and unlike jute bags, do not rot easily when it comes in contact with water.
“They are rough as compared to a normal cotton bag and can absorb liquids to some extent by virtue of their plastic constituents. They are no better than polythene bags and take years to decompose,” Katragadda added.
Explaining how to differentiate these from real cloth bags, Katrgadda said that those made of cloth are not woven and the bottom of the bags are simply stuck using adhesives instead of stitching them. However, when shopkeepers in the city were questioned about the nature of the bags they currently use, they seemed to have no answer.
“We procure these bags from a wholesaler, who has a distributing unit in Guntur. These bags look similar to cloth bags and are thinner. We thought this was done to cut costs,” said Ayyappa Kumar, a fruit seller in Patamata. Even civic body officials seem to be oblivious.
“Now that the issue has been brought to our notice, we will surely look into the matter and take necessary measures,” an official said on condition of anonymity.
Though these bags are reusable, experts believe that within 10 years from the date of manufacture, they can decompose and cause harm to the environment. In view of tackling the single-use plastic menace, Katragadda opines, “The real goal should be to minimise the creation of new bags.”
“The production has to be stopped. People should come forward to tackle this menace head-on,” he adds.