Maharashtra relaxes plastic ban for small retailers

India’s Maharashtra state recently relaxed the ban on use of plastic bags above 50 microns for packaging by small retailers for next three months.

The relaxation followed a proposal sent to the state government by small traders to work out a mechanism to recycle plastic bags within the next three months, state environment minister Ramdas Kadam said.

Small traders have also assured that the plastic bags given by retailers to consumers will not end up in garbage dumps, a news agency report quoted Kadam as saying.

The state government had on 23 June enforced a ban on single-use plastic items.