CHENNAI: The Meendum Manjappai campaign, a flagship programme of the State government launched by Chief Minister MK Stalin in December last year, enters its second phase with the final prototype of the vending machine ready and set to storm the markets. The campaign was to raise awareness among the public to eliminate the use of banned single-use plastics and revive the use of traditional eco-friendly alternatives.
The prototype of manjappai (yellow cloth bag) vending machine was exhibited by manufacturing firms at the Eco-Alternatives Expo in Chennai Trade Centre. In a tweet on Tuesday, environment secretary Supriya Sahu said, “What started with a small idea has taken wings. The vending machines are now available in different capacities and styles. I tried the 500-bag capacity machine at the expo and it was too good.”
Krishna Priyadarshini, the founder of InstaGood, one of the manufacturers of manjappai vending machines, told TNIE that these machines are custom-made for the requirements of the State government. “It is an IoT-based machine which dispenses cloth bag upon inserting `10 coin or currency note. There is an option for UPI payment as well. If required, the capacity of the machine can be enhanced.”
The government has placed orders for 25 machines with two firms. “We are supplying 15 machines, each costing `1 lakh. One machine is already installed at Koyambedu market and will shortly put up a machine at Chennai airport. We are getting enquiries from different quarters.”
Sahu told TNIE that the government wants to install these machines in all major public places. “We are exploring the possibility of supplying these machines to forest check-posts.” The government has formed a State-level special task force for monitoring the implementation of the single-use plastic ban. A State Action Plan has been prepared by the government under Plastic Waste Management Rules, 2016, and submitted to the Union environment ministry.
On Tuesday, a startup conference was inaugurated by Union Minister of State for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Ashwini Kumar Choubey. Various financial organisations actively participated in the event and extended financial support to the start-ups in eco-alternatives to single-use plastics and innovative approaches to Plastic Waste Management and Air Quality Management.