A lot of cities in the country are trying to impose a ban on plastic bags. I must say that I don't fully understand how bad plastic bags are for the environment (as opposed to paper bags) or how much their net cost is compared to their net utility, but for now I'll play along because at the very least, since we don't have a proper garbage disposal system in the country, I don't want to see these plastic rags just strewn all over the place.
The AOC centre in Hyderabad has prominent signs that advertise this ban on plastic bags. In Chandigarh, in the time that I've been here, I've seen a marked decline in the usage of plastic bags. More and more shopkeepers refuse to give you plastic bags citing pressure from various sources (presumably the police). Of course the pressure doesn't seem to be a constant thing because these very same vendors have reverted to using plastic bags when I checked a few weeks later. The customers for their part seem to be showing up with reusable bags to get groceries etc. Let me also qualify this observation by noting that my sample space is very small, I've seen this happen only a handful of times. But it is more than I've ever seen before and that's something I suppose.
From my side I have no qualms about using plastic bags. My entire "trash" situation is dependent on me using plastic bags to store my trash, which is thrown away by the maid when it gets filled up. But I justify it to myself by thinking about how many fewer plastic bags I am using because I don't buy groceries as regularly as the others here.
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