The Bhojanchal Youth Association at a memorandum to Mr.Jayant Mallayya, Environment Minister of Madhya Pradesh, has urged that the guidelines given the Madhya Pradesh High Court about the prohibition on the use of polly bags were not implemented due to lack of control on it.

The damaged internal roads and waterlogging inside the solid waste treatment plant are hampering the clearing of accumulated waste and fertiliser at Brahmapuram Municipal Solid Waste Treatment plant of the Kochi Corporation.

Water from the nearby water body is reaching the floor of the plant and soaking the waste. A temporary bund has been constructed for preventing water incursion. When it rains, the rain water too spreads dampness on the waste, making the processing nearly impossible, said the officials of the agency which took up the assignment to run the plant.

The Guwahati Municipal Corporation (GMC) will soon issue notification prohibiting distribution of plastic carry bags free of cost to the customers within Guwahati Municipal area. “Minimum price of carry bags depending upon their quality and size will be charged as and when the notification is issued by the Corporation,” an official statement said.

Collector's order backs hospital's efforts

Efforts of the Government Medical College Hospital authorities to keep the premises clean and litter-free have received a fillip with the District Collector stepping in to declare the premises a ‘plastic-free zone'. The official declaration to this effect was issued recently.

CHENNAI: In a bid to focus on environmental sustainability and realise the objectives of Vision 2023, the environment and forest department’s draft state environment policy is looking at strategies to revamp and restructure the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board, the Directorate of Environment and related institutions to make them participative and transparent in decision-making.

New Delhi: Three years after the use of plastic bags was banned, white thin plastic covers continue to proliferate in city markets. Though major book stores and coffee outlets switched to paper bags after the high court ruling in 2009, local markets with midlevel traders are still teeming with violators. At the time of implementing the ban, the Delhi government had also ensured the closure of several plastic manufacturing units to check its supply. But plastic bags managed to find their way back into grocery stores, sweet shops and vendors’ stalls.

Officials Blame Process Of Penalizing, Lax Implementation For Ban’s Failure.

Following several debates among members of the civic standing committee over banning plastic bags to prevent choking of drains in the city, the BMC will now let its municipal market inspectors impose a fine on errant shopkeepers. At present, use of plastic bags thinner than 50 microns is banned.

While a complete ban on plastic bags can be introduced only by the state government, at present only BMC ward officers have the authority to punish those found using plastic bags of lesser thickness. Such bags are largely responsible for choked drains during monsoons, which leads to flooding.

The ban on use of below-40 micron plastic carry bags has gone for a toss in the city with the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation seemingly uninterested in enforcing the ban. The plastic ban that came into effect from July 1, 2011, with the laudable objective of phasing out non-biodegradable and environmentally harmful plastic carry bags, has ended up helping retailers make money selling the bags to customers, and totally failed to minimise environmental pollution.

Finding a permanent solution to the three-decade-old waste management problem of Thrissur city is the main agenda of the corporation, Deputy Mayor Subi Babu has said while presenting the annual budget for 2012-13.

The budget has earmarked Rs. 3 crore for the waste management project. Efforts will be taken to get maximum funds from the State government.