Vending kiosks for cloth bags set up at 11 more Salt Lake mkts
Times of India | 28 July 2024
Kolkata: Following the successful pilot project of installing cloth bag vending machines at Salt Lake CA market, Bidhannagar Municipal Corporation (BMC), with the help of the state pollution control board, has installed similar kiosks in most of markets across Salt Lake.
“Cloth bag vending machines have been installed in 11 more markets across Salt Lake.We now plan to extend this move to markets in the Rajarhat Gopalpur area. The aim is to curb the use of plastic bags,” said BMC MMIC (markets) Rajesh Chirimar. These machines are being installed at two gates of the markets. “As Rajarhat mostly has open markets, we are trying to identify suitable spots inside sheds to install these machines,” said a civic official.
The machine has a holding capacity of around 200 cloth bags, and to purchase them, one has to insert a Rs-10 coin or pay online by scanning a QR code.
BMC also plans to engage agencies to conduct its anti-plastic drive. “The drive is scheduled to start in the first week of Aug. Checks will be held twice a day in the market areas to see if plastic bags, with a thickness of below the recommended 120 micron, are still being used or not. We will begin with the Rajarhat Gopalpur area markets,” said BMC MMiC (environment) Rahima Bibi Mondal.