Mumbai, July 17: The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has finally found a way to recycle plastic being recovered after the plastic ban. The civic body was in a state of perplexity after it seized 150 metric tonnes of plastic amid the statewide ban on single-use plastic, looking for ways to recycle it. According to news reports, the civic body is now planning to auction the seized plastic to registered recyclers for scientific disposal.

Kiran Dighavkar, the assistant municipal commissioner and also the nodal officer for plastic of Mumbai city, was quoted in a Midday news report as saying, "We have decided that the plastic will be auctioned at the ward level and only to MPCB-registered manufacturers or recyclers, who come forward to take the responsibility of its disposal."

The decision has come days after the BMC failed to find any organisation in Mumbai which can dispose off the plastic in a scientific way. State Environment Minister Ramdas Kadam had introduced the plastic ban in the month of April this year. A three-month grace period was given to all establishments and common people to dispose off the available plastic at collection centres allotted by the civic body at different places.

Starting July 23, strict fines are being levied on violators and as per earlier reports, BMC takes Rs 5,000 from first-time offenders, and more from repeat offenders.The ban was introduced after Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray's son Aditya Thackeray requested the government to consider regulating plastic use after several reports highlighted the grim picture of marine line pollution due to increasing use of single-use plastic.

The state drew a lot of flak for implementing the ban haphazardly. Following this, the state government relaxed a few rules of the plastic ban for retailers who threatened to go on strike after a few days.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 17, 2018 01:49 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).