Total ban on plastic in Karnataka puts restaurants in dilemma

Bengaluru: A blanket ban on plastic in Karnataka has left hoteliers and online food delivery companies in a dilemma on how to deliver food without disposable containers.

In many of the restaurants in Bengaluru which serve yummy idlis and dosas, at least ten per cent of the customers stop by for the ubiquitous “parcel" – or takeaway – on their way home or to their office. But with a blanket ban on use of plastics, and due to lack of an equally good alternative, hoteliers are a worried lot. Many of the bigger shops and hotels have already paid up thousands of rupees in penalty when they were caught using plastic containers or bags.

Reacting to the ban, Subramanya Holla, secretary of Hotels Association said “Parcel has become a part of everybody's lives. Today when someone is walking home from office they get a call from the wife saying get something to eat. Now will you carry a bag with you to take parcel or go home and bring your family to the restaurant? How to support the system we also don't know. It is going to impact everyone"

Online food delivery companies – whose sole business model is built around takeaways – suffer more, having invested lakhs on their stocks already. Rajesh Nair, founder of hungermeals.com said “We serve food in this tray, margin is less and logistics are too high"

Bengaluru alone produces 1050 tonnes of plastic waste every day. Plastic manufacturers and traders in the city have moved the high court seeking a stay on the ban, as more than 80000 people who are employed in the plastic industry would be impacted. The state govt, however, says it’s keen to go ahead with the ban, barring some exceptions like dairy products.

The counter argument is that usage of eco friendly products like cardboard would lead to deforestation, which is more harmful than the use of plastic. But the state government which is defiant on their order says there won’t go back on the ban order, barring some exemptions like dairy products.

Commenting on the ban B Ramanath Rai, Karnataka Environment minister said “Protection of the environment is a priority. Plastic products are more dangerous. And the public knows the ban on plastic is for their good"

Questions are also being raised on to what extent the ban is practical and how effectively it can be enforced, considering it includes products used on a daily basis.