KOCHI: The Kerala Plastic Manufacturers’ Association has demanded that the ban on single-use plastic, which came into force in the state on January 1, be implemented after six to eight months.
“KPMA is not against the ban. However, the government should give us time for a ‘decent exit’. We set up manufacturing units after taking loans from banks and the government should implement the ban after six or eight months so that we can sell existing stocks and take up some other business,” KPMA representative P J Mathew told reporters on Thursday. He said there were plastic stocks worth Rs 1,200 crore in the market. The KPMA office-bearers said the statewide ban was a hasty move, implemented on the insistence of the chief minister and a few IAS officers.
“The government formed a five-member panel in December 2018 to study the plastic issue. The panel filed its report in April last year. In November, it was announced that single-use plastic will be banned from January 2020,” Mathew said. The KPMA functionaries said there were 1,300 plastic manufacturing units in the state employing 35,000 directly and 60,000 people indirectly.
“The industry’s annual turnover is nearly Rs 3,000 crore and Rs 520 crore was paid to the government as taxes,” said Mathew. P J Mathew said the government should adopt an approach similar to when bans were imposed on sale of arrack and on bars.
“At the time, the government took over the stocks in the bars and announced rehabilitation packages for the employees. It should be done in this case too,” he said, adding, “Even if we shift to manufacturing compostable plastic, it will take over eight months to get approval from the agencies concerned.”
‘Improve waste management’
The KPMA functionaries urged the government to chalk out a proper action plan to manage waste.
KPMA to boycott investor meet
Kochi: Plastic manufacturers in the state have decided to boycott the ASCEND-investors meet organised by the government here on January 9 and 10 against the government’s “failure to protect industrialists who invested money.” Kerala Plastic Manufacturers’ Association (KPMA) officer-bearers on Thursday said they will also move the High Court seeking an extension to ban single-use plastic in the state. They said their manufacturing units will remain shut on the two days of the meet. “A protest dharna and hunger strike will be organised at Bolgatty, the venue of the meet,” said KPMA former president P J Mathew.