CAIT to launch campaign from Sept 1 to stop single-use plastic

Traders' body CAIT on Thursday decided to launch a nationwide campaign from September 1 to stop usage of single-use plastic in furtherance to the call given by Prime Minister Narendra Modi from the Red Fort in his Independence Day speech.

At a national conference of trade leaders, the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) has also urged the government to take some immediate steps including a direction to companies, including those in manufacturing and packaging, not to use single-use of plastic.

It said a resolution was adopted at the conference to launch a nationwide campaign from September 1, 2019, making traders and people aware about the impact of plastic usage on environment.

During the campaign traders will be advised to use alternatives of plastics in their shops and prompt customers also to use cloth or jute bags while shopping.

"Production of plastic sheets less than 50 microns should be stopped immediately. Reasonable alternative products to single-use plastics should be innovated and made available to the users so that usage of plastic bags should be discontinued from October 2," said CAIT National President B C Bhartia.

During the conference, it was also suggested that a special task force comprising senior officials, trade and industry representatives, and plastic manufacturers should be constituted to understand the impact of stoppage of single-use plastic and recommend remedial measures.

CAIT Secretary General Praveen Khandelwal further said a campaign has been launched to digitalise seven crore traders across the country.

The traders' body has partnered with HDFC Bank, Mastercard, and common service centres (CSCs) of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, among others, for the purpose, he added.

The CAIT has also urged the government to constitute a 'Retail Ombudsman' to monitor and regulate retail trade and e-commerce in the country.

In his Independence Day speech, Modi had urged people to shun single-use plastic and encouraged usage of jute and cloth bags to protect the environment.

According to the environment ministry, about 20,000 tonnes of plastic waste is generated every day in the country and out of which, only 13,000-14,000 tonne are collected.

Experts have maintained that the problem lies in inadequate collection and recycling systems.