25: Plastic Bags Need to Go

India

A Climate Pollinator story by Sierra Ross Richer

When Emmanuel Mahendra goes shopping in his home city of Kanker in Chhattisgarh, India, he makes sure not to forget reusable cotton shopping bags. Plastic bags were banned in his state a few months ago, and he has adjusted his habits.

“The first few months we were struggling because we weren’t used to it,” said Emmanuel, who works in the conference office for the Mennonite Church in India. He’d forget to take his own bags and would be charged extra for reusable ones. But he said, “after a few months, we got used to it.”

The ban on plastic bags in Chhattisgarh is part of a national program to reduce plastic waste in India. In July of last year, the government banned the production, import and distribution of 19 plastic items including plastic cups, straws and ice cream sticks.

Items like these become litter on the streets and accumulate in trash dumps where mismanagement leads to environmental contamination, health risks for those living and working nearby and the release of methane, a greenhouse gas 84 times more potent than carbon dioxide. (India is the second largest emitter of methane after the United States.)

The manufacturing of plastics also releases greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere. India produces more than 268,000 US tons of disposable plastic every year, so reducing the demand is critical for mitigating climate change.

Emmanuel became more aware of the issues around trash during a year he spent in the United States.

A few years ago, Emmanuel lived in Goshen, Indiana as a participant in the International Volunteer Exchange Program (IVEP) run by Mennonite Central Committee (MCC). He was struck by how much waste people produced.

“The grocery stores, they give lots of plastic bags,” he said.

And, “In the US, there’s a bunch of mail.” Mailboxes are stuffed with advertisements, like those sent out by universities. “They can send, like, emails!” Emmanuel said.

The difference between the US and India is that in the United States, most garbage is whisked away to landfills, where the problem is out of sight.

Back in India, some cities including Delhi and Mumbai, have recently developed programs to encourage people to clean up litter, Emmanuel said. At special recycling centers, you can turn in five empty water bottles in exchange for a full one.

“Most people drink here and then throw it,” Emmanuel said. The government’s goal is to provide incentives to change that habit.

Transitioning away from plastic products won’t happen overnight, Emmanuel said. “Sometimes you have to use plastic.” But his experience over the last few months gives him hope.

“Hardly can you find a (plastic) bag” in Chhattisgarh, he said. “They’re completely banned.”