Plastic Ban In Maharashtra Troubles Food Delivery Companies And Vendors

Today is the second day of the plastic ban in Maharashtra wherein single-use plastic cannot be used. But this was one of the common things for food vendors as well as the online food delivery companies and now they find themselves without alternatives.

Food Soaked In Water

A lady who ordered food for her and her guests in Mumbai told the Free Press Journal, “It was a disaster for me. It was a routine get-together and I ordered some food as usual…The (delivery) boy finally reached after an hour, but what I received was shocking. There was only one thick plastic bag he was carrying but water had dripped inside and the packing box was completely wet. The boy was helpless as he could not risk himself to heavy fines by carrying a plastic bag. The restaurant from where I ordered my food was not keen on using a plastic bag. There are some types of plastic bags are allowed but they were not sure whether they can use it or not,” she told the publication.

Vendors Need Plastic

The vegetable market vendors as well as fish traders are troubled with the plastic ban. Some vendors feel that the thick plastic becomes heavy and is not good enough. “It (the thick plastic) becomes very heavy to handle but I have to cover my vegetables and other materials from getting wet. Some days back, some government officials had approached us for sensitising but they only informed us about what not to use. There was hardly any talk about the available alternatives,” Ram Prasad Yadav, a vegetable vendor in Goregaon told the Free Press Journal.

Fish and meat sellers too are facing issues as they cannot sell such food items in a cotton bag. “We are so used to plastic bags. When we decided to open our shop today, we had to struggle to find an alternative to plastic,” a meat vendor told the publication. “We will have to work out some solution as we cannot let our business get affected. Disposal of fishes is also a huge headache. A lot of fish parts have to be thrown out after cleaning and selling because it is the job of vendors to dispose them. Earlier, we used to throw the remaining parts in plastic bags. However, we will now have to think about another option,” Rashid Abdul Sattar, a meat shop owner said while speaking with the publication.