Nerve Endings Firing Away

In light of Mumbai city’s decision to ban all plastic bags, I chanced upon this interesting website of a non-profit company that “supplies biodegradable plastic bags, recycled paper bags, and cotton bags to small retailers at affordable prices.” Now this is a nice business model that would work even in India if marketed correctly and would go a long way in solving our environmental woes. Many battles are fought over the size of microns that plastic bags should have because more the microns greater are the chances for recycling (if recycled though).

Recycling is a concept still unfamiliar to many Indians and we often tend to mix our wet and dry garbage. I have seen new international students from India throwing wet trash in paper recycling bins not out of spite but simply due to ignorance. A few slaps on the wrists later, they learn quick. I see no reason why it shouldn’t work in India too. The role of plastic bags in the recent floods may have been exaggerated by the administration but it played a role nevertheless. Take a look at any open drain near your home; chances are that you will find it filled with multicolored plastic bags. My mom has been proudly supporting this paper-bag campaign for the past few years; so much that the vegetable sellers in Panvel started stocking paper bags for those who asked for them. A small change but a change nevertheless. She used the potential of impressionable minds of kids in her school to campaign against plastic bags. She even received a letter from President Abdul Kalam for her efforts.

Economies of scale should help reducing the price of paper bags or biodegradable plastic but the change should begin from the attitudes of the people towards conservation. I have seen the range of attitudes — intense activism for recycling in some suburbs of Atlanta to ignorance in College Station. Back in Atlanta, I had made all my roommates separate the plastic bottles and aluminum cans from other garbage. After doing it reluctantly for a month, they soon began doing it subconsciously and I hope they continue to do so even though I have left. It works via peer pressure. Later on, I had noticed one of them insisting a guest to toss the Coke can in a separate bag next to the trash can. I managed to inculcate the habit of recycling in at least 5 people so even if you manage to ‘convert’ one, we can effect change. So pitch in!