A Market Research

Project report
On

“To evaluate the level of awareness of the harms of polythene bags

Among the people and
Determine the feasibility of introducing of paper/jute bags”

By Prashant Joshi

MMM II A

93152

Under the guidance of

Mr Ulhas Pramanik & Mr Ajit Borde

ASM’s INSTITUTE OF BUSINESS MANAGEMENT & RESEARCH

CHINCHAWAD, PUNE

UNIVERSITY OF PUNE
Research Objective:

“To evaluate the level of awareness of the harms of polythene bags

among the people and determine the feasibility of introducing of
paper/jute bags.”

Introduction:
This report revolves around very common issue of present industrial
framework that is global warming. Environmental pollution is the
problem of this era which needs immediate identification and measures
to resolve. Environmentalists are concerned about the governmental
policies about the pollution measures. Environmental pollution is going
to be a major dilemma of the future if it is not fixed timely. Every
individual or organization is concerned about their short-term gains. But
no one cares about the impact of their shorter gains on the longer
period.

In this report, we put a sincere effort to bring forth this serious issue of
the use of plastic bags that harms the natural environment. We tried to
determine the level of consciousness of individual about environmental
pollution. This report will help you understand the awareness level of
people’s concern about the global warming and how the polythene bags
affect our environment. What if the use of the plastic bags is
discontinued, what consequences we should ready to face.
This report highlights the problems and the harms of using plastic bags
in depth & role plastic bags play in our daily routine lives. A long
detailed personal and telephonic survey has been conducted for this
reason.
Overview of the Plastic:
Every year, around 500 billion (500,000,000,000) plastic bags are used
worldwide. So many that over one million bags are being used every
minute and they're damaging our environment. India's plastics
consumption is one of the highest in the world. Yet, precious little has
been done to recycle, re-use and dispose of plastic waste. Plastic bags
are difficult and costly to recycle and most end up on landfill sites where
they take around 300 years to photo degrade. They break down into tiny
toxic particles that contaminate the soil and waterways and enter the
food chain when animals accidentally ingest them. The cows, buffaloes
& other milking animals accidently eat the plastic which causes problem
for them & for us also as the milk that we are consuming gets toxic, but
the problems surrounding waste plastic bags starts long before they
photo degrade.

It was World War II that placed plastics at the center of necessity. A

rubber substitute called vinyl was used by Allied troops for waterproof
tents and boots. It was only in the 1950s that plastics began to come
into wide use in international arena, yet within few years, production has
risen at an unparalleled rate. World consumption is now comparable
with that of all non-ferrous metals.

Forecasts concerning the production of resins indicate that the

economies of many developed and developing countries are
increasingly relying on the use of plastics. In this regard the most
intractable problem relating to plastics and the environment has been so
far their disposal. Land filling on one hand is increasingly seen to pose
problems of environmental impact, because the availability of suitable
sites is decreasing day by day. Moreover, the leaching of the plastic
additives into the ground waters is now being questioned. On the other
hand, uncontrolled burning of plastics including polyethylene in the
dumping sites and other areas is not acceptable environment-wise. The
controlled incineration of plastic waste is also raising concerns in some
cases.

Polyethylene materials are not bio-degradable. Whenever a

polyethylene bag is thrown away, it does not decompose through
natural process. It contributes to the accumulation of non-destructive
waste of permanent nature. If anybody looks at any garbage dumping
site, he will observe this fact that although other garbage matter get
decomposed and merged into the soil but polyethylene bags remain
intact with their different colors especially the black colored polyethylene
bags. Polyethylene remains intact in the soil and disturbs the flow of
nutrients to the soil and hinders entering sunlight. It destroys the
beneficial bacteria of soil and losses soil fertility. It hinders the way of
soil compaction, which in the long run effects the construction of
foundation of the different structure.

The use of polyethylene is not environment friendly. Medical reports find

it as an agent of cancer, skin diseases and other health problems. The
users are more exposed to these types of health hazards when
polyethylene is used to pack bread, biscuits, potato chips or other food
items. In the developed countries, food is wrapped in food-graded
plastic or polyethylene, but in Bangladesh this was not strictly followed
and sometimes colorants are used, some of which may be
carcinogenic.

Polyethylene industries for shopping bag production emerged in

Bangladesh in early 80's and within a decade the industry reached in
such a level that the jute bag production forced to be almost closed.
The use of polyethylene shopping bags had been so enormous that one
could find the polyethylene bags everywhere i.e. in the street,
dumpsites, drains, ditches, open-fields, roof tops, hanging from trees
and overhead cables, floating on ponds, canals, rivers.

Survey report showed that near about 10 million polyethylene bags

were used everyday and every year about 3000 million bags were
dumped in Dhaka City alone. The steadily growing use of polyethylene
bags posed an ominous environmental problem in the city as well as in
rural areas. This enormous use of polyethylene bags led to - severe
environmental impacts like soil degradation, loss of soil fertility, blocking
up of drainage and sewerage systems, causing water logging and the
spread of harmful microbes and bacteria. The worst example of adverse
effect caused due to polyethylene bags was the delaying process of
recession of flood water in Dhaka city during 1998, & 26th July 2005 in
Mumbai (India) & also other parts of Maharashtra, in which more than
1000 people were died & a huge loss occurred to state & its people,
Poly bag was also one of the several reasons.

One of the effective ways of management of polyethylene bags is

recycling/reuse of post-consumer polyethylene bags for other useful
purposes. But the state of recycling in some other countries again
posed some other environmental hazards and some means of
transmission of diseases. The burning of polythene in open air produces
the threat of poisonous gas like carbon mono-oxide, carbon-dioxide
hydrogen cyanide those causes health hazard to the people. The
people who are involved in collection of polythene bags are the most
vulnerable group.
 Basic Terms

What is recycling? What can we do?

Recycling means that, we take products that have been used and turn
them into something else to use again.
Most of the things that we use every day are made from resources that
come from the earth, and that have been processed and turned into
other products. When we throw away these products (like a juice bottle,
for example), they normally end up in a landfill. Unfortunately, a lot of
the things that we use and throw away will never break down or
biodegrade. For example, when a plant dies, small organisms and
bacteria in the soil can break it down and return it into the soil to be
used by new plants. This process of decomposition is nature's way of
recycling. When we recycle items like a juice bottle, our wastes don't get
thrown into a landfill, but instead are re-used in other products.
Starting recycling programs at school is a great way help raise recycling
awareness in your community.

What is pollution?
There are many types of pollution happening today, even in your city.
One type of pollution we hear about a lot here in Santa Barbara is oil
pollution. This can be spillage or even leakage of processed oil into
oceans. Other types of pollution include air pollution (the layer of brown
clouds you see when you go to Los Angeles and other big cities).
Pollution from sewage and drainage into rivers and oceans also is a
serious problem for our environment. Finally, deforestation and industry
development can also be thought of as ways the environment is being
polluted.
How does pollution affect rivers, oceans, and our ecosystem?
Our rivers, lakes and oceans are affected by pollution in many ways. First and
foremost, the organisms that live in these places are often harmed by
pollution. The water can be polluted by chemical and product leaks, which
may cause the animals that live in the water to get sick. Animals that are high
up on the food chain can also get sick from toxic build up in their bodies from
eating other affected animals and plants. Air pollution also has very negative
effects on our atmosphere. There is a hole in our ozone due to pollution in the
air. If this hole gets bigger we won’t be as protected from the sunlight and its
heat. Many years from now this could pose a serious threat to humans.
Secondary Research

Ban on use of Plastic Bags

Background:
Used plastic shoppers are notorious for choking sewer, open drainage
system spoiling sanitation and creating an overall unaesthetic view of
environment. The practice of burning them on street sides at dump sites
produces dioxins and furans, which are excessively and extensively
being inhaled by human beings. Due to their extreme toxicity of human
system, they are responsible for producing serious diseases under
universally accepted international requirement, dioxins and furans are
required to be absolutely absent in air. Because of polyethylene the raw
material being on-degradable in nature, the plastic bag continued to be
present in the environment and contribute their undesirable impacts for
a much extended period. Since they are extensively used in cities,
therefore, these adverse impacts are extremely visible in urban areas.
Plastic bags are favored for a number of their desirable properties such
as low weight, durability, and for a number of their other end uses like
convenience in packing food stuff and other multifarious items besides
virtually no cast to the end user that is customer. Where, the very
characteristic cause tremendous rise in their use in day to day life there
at the same time unethical disposal of the used shopping bags adds to
the entire problem in totality. And the situation has appeared now in the
form of a menace to the environment in the form of choking of sewage
resulting in oozing out owe fully dirty water on streets making stinking
pools as good breeding grounds for a number of vectors of diseases
like flies and mosquitoes. These vectors spread diseases like cholera,
typhoid, diarrhea, awful odor, and contamination of drinking water thus
further spreading these diseases and even hepatitis B and spoiling
sanitation more dominantly in the bigger cities of India.
Efforts

From Australia to the U.K., and all across the U.S., politicians and
corporations are pondering banning or taxing plastic bags.

A hefty surcharge that began in 2003 in Ireland has spurred the public there to
spurn plastic bags almost completely in favor of reusable cloth totes.

Plastic sacks are also taxed in Italy and Belgium. Grocery shoppers must pay
for the bags in Switzerland, Germany, and Holland. Spain, Norway, and now
the U.K. are considering a ban or tax as well.

The political action in the U.K. on single-use plastic bags follows similar
gestures earlier this year in Australia.

There a national ban or tax is being hotly debated, though the state of South
Australia, which includes the city of Adelaide, has promised a ban on free
single-use bags by year's end no matter what.

The state's premier, Mike Rann, listed familiar reasons for the ban: The bags
contribute to greenhouse gases, clog up landfills, litter streets and streams,
and kill wildlife.

Banished Bags

Unsightly pollution appears to be behind China's January announcement of a

countrywide ban on the thinnest totes and a tax on others. It begins June 1,
two months before the Summer Olympics in Beijing.

Taiwan taxes the bags, and the cities of Dhaka, Bangladesh, and Mumbai,
India, ban them to prevent flood-inducing storm-drain clogs during monsoon
season.

Once jokingly called the "national flower," thin plastic bags have been banned
in South Africa since 2003; thicker ones are taxed. Similar measures exist in
Eritrea, Rwanda, Somalia, Tanzania, Kenya, and Uganda.
In the U.S., the cities of San Francisco and Oakland, California, ban the bags
and promote reusable and compostable sacks. Elsewhere in the state
supermarkets are required to take back and recycle the bags.

Similar take-back and recycle initiatives are on the books or under

consideration in New York, New Jersey, and Maryland.

And some sort of action is an agenda item in seemingly every boardroom and
city hall across the U.S., according to Vincent Cobb, founder of Chicago,
Illinois-based Reusablebags.com.

The Maharashtra government on 24th August 2005, banned manufacture, sale

and use of all plastic bags, saying they choked drainage systems during
recent monsoon rains.

Environmental groups welcomed the ban, but said it wasn't enough. Plastic
manufacturers said 100,000 people would lose their jobs.

Manufacturers and stores selling plastic bags will be fined Rs 5,000, while
individuals using bags face penalties of Rs 1,000, then Chief Minster Vilasrao
Deshmukh said.

Chief Minister said the ban was prompted by the indiscriminate use of plastic
bags, which blocked sewage and drainage systems during record monsoon
rains in July. Flooding and landslides killed more than 1,000 people in the
state & the ban came into effect from September 24th 2005.

Other Indian states have already banned the use of thin plastic bags-- 20
microns or .002 centimeters thick-- used by shoppers.

Residents blame haphazard planning, bad drainage and poor roads for the
flooding and landslides.
Effects of Anti-polythene Campaign:

Polythene bags manufacturers and their trading bodies have started

approaching the city administration to get some relief in manufacturing plastic
bags, arguing that they use these bags to pack shipments for exports to other
countries and provinces where the use of polythene bags was yet to be
banned.

The closure of manufacturing plants in days of economic recession would

result in joblessness of hundreds of workers.

"The ban is long overdue and very welcome," said Debi Goenka, an
environmentalist with the Bombay Environmental Action Group. Bombay is
the capital of Maharashtra state.

"But to say the flooding was just because of plastic bags is stupid," Goenka
said. "This has to be a first step." Environmental groups have demanded
preservation of open spaces and regular cleaning of drains and garbage.

Arvind Mehta, managing committee member of the All India Plastic

Manufacturers Association, said more than 1,000 manufacturing plants would
be forced to shut down in the state, putting 100,000 people out of work.

"The government is passing the buck. We are being made scapegoats,"

Mehta said. "The waste management system and people's littering habits
should be corrected."

Viewpoint
The manufacturers of the plastic bags oppose the ban on plastic bags,
arguing that, employment of thousands of person depends upon such
cottage industries, which manufacture polyethylene bags. The ban will
render many people jobless. They opine that in absence of polyethylene
bags, if papers are to be used then, it will involve cutting of more trees,
which is not advisable, the argue that this issue is basically that of
proper collection of the solid waste. If the waste is collected by the
municipal agencies on diurnal basis, then, there would be no
polyethylene bags in dust bins. Consequently, bags will not get air born,
to create nuisance. Collection of solid waste on diurnal basis will have a
beneficial impact. If all the solid wastes generated are collected
regularly, then the nuisance of plastic bags will be minimized to a large
extent.

Benefits of the Paper Bag

• 100% reusable, recyclable and biodegradable.

• Easier to carry than plastic bags.
• Holds more items than plastic bags = fewer bags to handle.
• Environmentally preferred.
• Contains 40% post-consumer recycled material.
• A renewable resource - comes from trees.

1) Paper is made from a renewable resource, trees. We can plant more trees,
and we do!
2) Paper grocery bags are strong enough to hold up to 20 pounds of groceries
without breaking—and can be reused again and again.
3) Paper grocery bags are made by workers in the paper factory (and
recycled by paper mills here too).
4) You'll have plenty of containers to put your used paper, cans, or bottles in
for recycling.
5) Your groceries won't slide all over the car on the way home.
6) You can be part of the Billion Bags Campaign to reuse and recycle paper
bags and boxes.
7) Paper bags are the shopper's choice (according to a survey by Willard
Bishop Consulting).
8) Paper bags are biodegradable (a plastic bag would still be in a landfill
1,000 years from now).
9) The messages on paper grocery bags are printed with water-based inks.
These inks are safer for the environment and make is easier for paper mills to
recycle the bags into new paper.

Some facts about Paper Bags

Paper Grocery Bags Are Great Recycling Containers For:
1) More paper grocery bags (and lunch and shopping bags)
2) Small pieces of corrugated (cardboard) boxes
3) Household paper (mail, notebook paper, magazines...)
4) Cans, glass jars and bottles, and plastic bottles that don't fit in recycling
bins (in some towns, you can use paper bags to separate items inside
recycling bins, too!).
5) Recycle bags and boxes together at curbside or drop-off recycling
sites.

Suggestions
1) There is need to create an awareness and develop a thinking that an
individual made a promise to himself as
a) I promise to recycle all the paper products collected in my
community (such as paper grocery bags, corrugated boxes, newspapers, milk
cartons, cereal boxes, mail, office paper, magazines, and catalogs).
b) I know the paper I recycle is used as a raw material to make new
paper products, so it is important to recycle right. I pledge to pay attention to
my community's recycling rules.
c) Because paper grocery bags can be reused and recycled, I promise
to say "Paper, Please" at the grocery store
 Primary Research

In our primary research we tried to find out the awareness level among
people.
In this regard we use different techniques for getting information. The
following four survey techniques were used in the research process

O Personal Interviews
O Questionnaire
O Observation
O Telephonic Interview
 Research Findings

MALE FEMALE
45% 55%

MALE
FEMALE

The number of females are high than males

Consciousness about environmental pollution & agreeing that, plastic

bags are the cause of environment pollution.

Yes No
100% 0%

3.5 100%

3
2.5
This means2that, people are now more aware about our environment.

1.5
1
Frequency of Grocery shopping
0.5
0
Twice a Daily Twice a Weekly Monthly Other
Day Week
Most number of people does the grocery weekly.

Do you think that decision to ban the use of plastic bag is good &
needed one?
Yes No
95% 5%

100

80

60

40

20

0
Yes No

95% of people think that, decision to ban the use of plastic is good & needed
one. They have welcomed it. 5
15

Did you ever notice after using the plastic bag what you did of it?

80

YES NO DON't KNOW

It seems that maximum people are concerned & they know what they are
doing with the plastic bag; however there are some people who are not
concerned & few who don’t know

If yes, then what you did of it?

Throw in the Street 0
Keep with you for future purposes 16%
Look for dust bin to trash 77.7%
Not in list? Then…? 0

It seems that people are concerned towards the environment & they don’t
throw plastic waste in the open.
Have you heard of the ban on plastic bag in some areas of country or
worldwide and do you think that decision to ban the use of plastic is
good & needed one?
5

95

YES
It seems that, people are aware about plasticNO
ban & they have already heard
about it. They have also welcomed the decision of government to ban the
plastic bags.

By not Using the Plastic Bag…

You can tick more than one
Avoid the foreign exchange loss incurred on import 4%
of chemicals used in plastic bags production.

Encourage Domestic Energy by using cotton bag 64%

that is produced with local material5
Generate employment opportunities
5 in textile 32%

Maximum people wants to encourage domestic industry, which very good for
the country.
Should a limited use of biodegradable plastic be allowed in the interest
of common man, if complete use of plastic is banned?

90
Maximum people think that an alternative of plastic i.e. biodegradable plastic
or safe plastic should be made into use as they concerned towards
environment, but at the same time facing the problem also

What Difficulties you find in stopping the use of plastic bags?

• Availability
• Liquid carrying
• Reusable bags are left at home
• If any alternative is available then no difficulty

5
20

Can you say “NO” to plastic Bags & demand for other substitute?
75
Maximum people are ready to say no to plastic bags & at the same time they
are also willing to demand for alternatives but some of them are facing
problems.

According to you which are the best substitute to the plastic bag?
Paper bags 15%
Jute Bags (Cotton/cloth or Canvas) 30%
Both 55%

Do you suggest any other substitute?

• Wood Baskets
• Thick Plastic baskets
• If products are delivered at home no need for bag at all

Other Findings of the research are:-

People are conscious about the environment. They are now thinking towards
environment. They feel that, more awareness should be made in context to
environmental pollution that is caused by poly-bags.
However I enquired with some shopkeepers, they are also concerned towards
environment but at the same time they are also facing difficulty in handling the
customers. Giving them items in plastic bags was very helpful for them.
Some of the respondents feel that, plastic ban is not a way & government can
put some extra charges for poly bags, say Rs 2 for a poly bag. In this case
only needed one will take the plastic bag & unnecessary use will stop.
Paper bags are made from paper which comes from trees. Which means use
of papers also harms the environment. But if paper bags are made from waste
paper, like newspaper then it is ok.
The advantages of plastic bags are: - durable, easily available, handy, liquid
goods can be also kept.
Disadvantages of plastic bags are: - Harmful to the environment, blockage of
sewerage system.
 Present Status:

The state government wants the plastic industry to be a little more

responsible. Following the pattern of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR)
in many European countries, the government is learnt to have told plastic
manufacturers to come up with solutions to tackle the menace of plastic bags
if they did not want them banned.

As the government has realised that banning plastic bags is not that easy, it
has been pursuing a more conciliatory approach with manufacturers. It is
learnt that even before the draft was prepared, the government has been
asking manufacturers to come up with a better solution.

The notion of EPR has also been mooted, but producers are not too keen on
being a part of the solution, said a government official.
"We are still waiting for them to find a way out instead of going for a ban which
is difficult to implement,’ he said.

Director of environment G N Varade, however, denied that the government

was shying away from the ban. "We'll screen the applications received from
the people on the draft notification and take a call on the ban," he said.

One of the solutions being mooted is to put up collection centers at locations

provided by the BMC and have NGOs running them.

The manufacturers are happy with the idea so long as they don't have any
role to play. But officials baulk at the logistics of this exercise if the
manufacturers stay away. The manufacturers, on their part, are keen to have
a ban on 20 micron bags continued.

"We have agreed to print our names on the plastic bags so it becomes easy
for the government to track the defaulter," said Kailash Murarka, of the All-
India Plastic Manufacturers Association.
 What can be done?

O Restricted import of plastic waste, paring and scrap through import

policy.

O A continues awareness campaign through print media with a support of

NGOs for discouraging the use of plastic shopping bags, promotion of
alternative and its safe disposal.

O Under activity based capacity development ABCD project, one of the

objectives includes development of awareness campaign and other
strategies to address the management and safe disposal of plastic
wastes and shopping bags.
QUESTIONNAIRE
 Market Research

(Answer the questions, tick or answer as per requirement)

Name (Optional) ______________________________________

Location ______________________________________

1) Age (Tick the appropriate option)

20 – 25 25 – 30 30 – 35 35 – 40 40 - 45

2) Education

Under Graduate Graduate Masters

3) Are you conscious about environmental pollution?

Yes No Don’t Know

4) Do you agree that plastic bags are the cause of environmental

pollution?

Yes No Don’t Know

If yes, then what are your efforts towards environment?
 5) Did you ever notice after using plastic bags what you do of it?

Yes No Don’t Know

If yes, then what you do with it?

O Throw in the street

O Keep with you for future purchase

O Look for dust bin to trash

O Not in list? then __________________________________________

6) Have you heard of the ban on plastic bag in some areas of the

country and worldwide?

Yes No Don’t Know

7) Do you think that decision to ban the use of plastic bag is good

and needed one?

Yes No Don’t Know

8) How frequently do you go for grocery shopping?

Twice a Daily Twice Weekly Monthly _________

day week
 9) By not using the plastic bags, we can *you can tick

more than one.

O Avoid the foreign exchange loss incurred on imported chemicals used

in plastic bag production.

O Encourage domestic industry by using cotton bag that is produced

with local material.

O Generate employment opportunities in textiles.

10) Should a limited use of biodegradable plastic be allowed in the

interest of common man, if complete use of plastic is banned?

Yes No Don’t Know Strictly Not

11) What difficulties you find in stopping the use of plastic bags?

12) Can you say “NO” to plastic bag at the time of shopping and

demand for other substitutes?

Yes No Don’t Know

 13) According to you, which is the best substitute for plastic bag?

Paper Bags Jute/cotton/canvas/cloth Both

bag

Do you suggest any other substitute?

______________________________________________________________

___________

14) Do you think that there is need to launch the awareness

campaign concerning the harms of plastic bags?

Yes No Don’t Know

15) Do you think it is better option to bring your own shopping bag

to market?

Yes No Don’t Know

16) Please mention the advantages for using

Plastic bag Paper Bag Jute Bag

(cotton/cloth/canvas)
 Please mention the disadvantages for using

Plastic bag Paper Bag Jute Bag

(cotton/cloth/canvas)

THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR TAKING THE TIME

TO COMPLETE THIS QUESTIONNAIRE

Summary and Conclusion

Our research topic was to find out the awareness level among people
that to what degree they inclined towards the environmental friendly
products. And in this regard are they familiar about the harms of
polythene bags. And whether, they want to have some other alternative
available to take part practically towards the betterment of environment.

Limitations in research:

We took secondary as well as primary research to find out the level of

awareness among people. The limitations that we faced during research
are mentioned below. Even though Time, Money and Resources were
the ultimate constrains of the research.

Secondary Research:

In secondary research we use different alternatives like;

Internet
Magazines
Newspapers
Books on environmentalism

And the limitations were;

O We could not get the sufficient data related to our own country.
O Some websites were out of services
O Problem of fit between the data available and data requires
 O Geographical Locations were also one of constrains to know
about people perception and behavior about global warming and
environmental friendly products.

Primary Research:
Our primary research comprises of

Questionnaire:

We get the questionnaire from the students of IBMR and the employees
of Infosys technology. But the major problem we faced was;

Non-response error

Ignorance: People do not know much about the sensitivity

of the product but they try to reach very genius.
Like when they were asked whether do you agree that
plastic bags cause environment pollution? They replied
with positive node. But when their effort towards the
environment was asked, they were speechless.

Courtesy Biasness: The respondents did not answer what they

perceived based on their knowledge and perception; rather they
answered what we want.

Conclusion:
We conclude that whether the use of plastic bags is seriously injurious
for the environment but according to research there are some
advantages and disadvantages of polythene bags:
Disadvantages of stopping polythene bag use

The participants mentioned some difficulties in stopping polythene bag

use. Some shopkeepers said that a few shoppers refuse to buy goods
from them now, looking elsewhere for someone who will give them a
polythene bag. Shoppers also said that it is difficult to carry fish and
certain dry goods like rice and dal, and to wrap items to store in the
refrigerator.
Participants also said that they face problems when wishing to buy
something, if they do not happen to have a bag with them.
“It is impossible to take a bag with you to the office,” explained one
man. The men explain that now when they leave home, they must stop
and think, where am I going? Will I buy anything?” However, the general
consensus was that it is simply a matter of breaking a habit, and that
the difficulty will only last a few days.

“The difficulty will last a few days, but it will be good for the future.”
In general, participants also felt that while polythene bags are bad for
the environment, they are far more convenient than current alternatives.
One man in particular expressed a wish for biodegradable one-use
bags. However, others expressed the feeling that one-use bags are
always bad for the environment. They still take time to biodegrade, and
thus could still block drains. If they are produced with chemicals they
will be bad for the environment, and if they utilize imported materials,
then they will be a drain on the economy, as opposed to the use of jute
bags.
Advantages of stopping polythene bag use:

Some of the shopkeepers even expressed pleasure, complaining that

previously customers insisted on having a polythene bag with each
purchase—one banana, one bag; one egg, one bag. It is now easier for
them to refuse such demands. The participants seem to enjoy reviving
the use of jute bags.

One man expressed great pleasure at the ban, discussing the economic
as well as environmental advantages. He explained that since raw
materials are imported for production of polythene bags, and since the
bags are produced by machines and thus require little labour, there are
two economic disadvantages: loss of foreign exchange to import raw
materials, and few employment gains. He contrasted those problems
against the advantages of jute bags, which are produced with local
materials and employ far more people in their production
Recommendations:

To eliminate the problems being faced and to alleviate the solution, possible
recommendations are:

O Since, employment of many people depends on this industry, any

major action may render the people jobless, there is need to encourage
these people to adopt alternate substitutes.

O All solid waste generated, should be collected strictly on diurnal basis.

O The top three forth portion of the dust bins should be covered. This will
obstruct the flight of polyethylene bags.

O Options of biodegradable bags should be carefully considered.

O Since, the bags get air bone. Due its light weight the manufacture of
bags with adequate thickness is allowed to prevent its flight. The
Islamic Republic of Pakistan’s standard institution may prescribe the
thickness and the quality of the bags.

O Arrangements with plastic manufacturers may be made, who could set

up recycling centers, where they can buy the used plastic bags. These
can then be recycled.

The city government, along with the plastic manufactures may start a mass
awareness program on a large scale. This will, at least, prevent the house
wives from the throwing the plastic bags outside of their homes.
O LIST OF SOURCES
O RESOURCE CONTSTRAINTS
O ACCURACY AND IMPORTANCE OF THE SOURCES
 BIBLIOGRAPHY

The natural environment has become an important strategic issue. Global

warming, bioterrorism, and increased pollution suggest that perhaps there is
now no greater threat to business and society than the continuous exploitation
and decimation of our natural environment.

Specifically we are going to bring in the issue of plastic (poly) bags; its threats.
And at the same time the need for the best alternatives. That maybe the
paper bag as well as the jute (cotton) bags. Since the topic seems to be and
actually is a very sensitive, it requires knowledgeable individuals and society
to understand and to create awareness and to tackle this problem
strategically.

The environmentalism is becoming common practice in developed countries

after a long and serious hard work to prepare the mind of people to identify
and understand this horrible issue. In countries like India, where it is still in
developing stage the whole country is suffering from the issue of Inflation,
financial and security concerns no single citizen from state heads to
environmental regulatory authorities to a common individual is willing to
consider this as a serious matter. Consequently we do not find so much local
work available to use as a secondary data. The recent ban on the use of
plastic shopping bags will help us finding the latest industrial updates. So far,
we have been surfing the national and international web sites for information
about the threats and problems resulted by the use of plastic shopping bags.
In a way we are trying to benchmark the developed countries’ work for our
use. Following are some URL’s and other sources we are consulting and
citing for the report.
 O news.nationalgeographic.com
O www.dnaindia.com
O www.climatecrisis.net
O www.iso.14000
O www.globalfootprints.org
O www.naturalnews.com
O www.theviewpaper.net
O www.rediff.com/news/2005/aug/24plastic.htm
O www.environment-agency.gov.uk
O www.google.com
O Strategic Management
By: Fred. R. David.

Many of above mentioned URLs are run by the international NGOs and
governmental institutions, almost all of them are updated regularly and the
information available and so far that has come to our notice is efficient,
accurate, and updated.
The search engine Google that is used maximum internet user is also
updated in every second, we are looking into it for further investigation of
related regulatory authorities and more concerns related to our topic for report
as well as for the purpose of educating ourselves. Finally the resource
constraints like time money will definitely lead to compromise on quality and
quantity. But the effort would be of the highest level with a clear intention to
bring rigorous, precise, accurate and objective sort of results