• WB: Banned plastic, toxic styrofoam back in use
    Times of India | 9 October 2022
  • KOLKATA: The rampant use of banned single-use plastic and styrofoam plates and glasses during Durga Puja has presented a huge challenge to the KMC conservancy department. They will need to clean up the mess that has choked gully pits to ensure there is no waterlogging. Already, water accumulation has led to concerns of them turning into mosquito breeding sites this dengue season.

    Even though KMC has efficiently removed the heaps of trash generated through the evening and night on puja days, much of the plastic waste comprising primarily plates and cups have accumulated at gully pits, resulting in water accumulation after spells of rain.

    "Single-use plastic packets returned this puja as did thermocol plates and cups. KMC conservancy staff had a harrowing time clearing them from the roadside. But the damage was done. Much of it has choked the gully pits, creating pools for mosquitoes during this peak dengue season," said Swarnendu Bose, a resident of Behala, whose family members got afflicted with dengue.

    "Single-use plastic and thermocol were ubiquitous in the city during the festive nights. Now, they are strewn all over the grounds, going to ponds and choking underground drains. Since the dengue season is expected to linger at least till mid-November, we are to suffer. Both KMC and pollution board need to issue guidelines. Otherwise, such small acts of carelessness will continue to tarnish such a great festival," said Ajay Mittal, director, the climate change programme (India and South Asia), Earthday.org.

    "It is indeed a cause of concern for us that such a fascinating festival ends up burying us in the trash, much of which is non-biodegradable. Since it rains regularly now, it would take an inordinate time for water to recede, leaving smaller pools of stagnant water on the streets and in the ground. The gully pit unclogging exercise is generally carried out before the monsoon. But the festive recklessness now necessitates a repetition of the act," said Somendra Mohan Ghosh, an environment activist.

    This extensive use of single-use plastic during the festive time also set a bad example for the markets which started avoiding thinner plastic packets and have also started reusing them in absence of any enforcement of a ban across the markets in the city. "It is sad that single-use plastic bags have again flooded the retail markets. It is a now-or-never situation for climate change but no one seems to pay any heed to it," said Naba Dutta, general secretary, Sabuj Mancha.
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