With the country-wide ban on single-use plastic items setting in from July 1, wholesalers and shop owners selling these items say alternatives to plastic are few and still pricey.

Manufacture, distribution, import, stocking, sale and use of 19 single-use plastic items, including spoons, plates, straws, cups, candy sticks, earbuds with plastic sticks, and packing film around boxes, will be banned from July 1, according to the Plastic Waste Management (Amendment) Rules notified in August 2021 by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.

Some wholesale suppliers of such products say they stopped purchasing stock a while ago.

Vinod Singh, a wholesaler in Sadar Bazaar, said he stopped buying these from factories a month ago. “I have switched to items made of paper from Narela and Bawana. But over the past three-four days, prices of these paper items have gone up as demand has grown. Paper glasses used to cost Rs 98 for 100 pieces; it now costs Rs 114. Alternatives are also more expensive. A packet of plastic spoons would cost Rs 35-40. Wooden ones are priced between Rs 80-120. Customers are running away now since prices have risen. That’s a problem for business,” Singh said. He used to supply disposables to canteens as well, but such places stopped asking for plastic disposables around 15 to 20 days ago, he added.

Paper products are also not durable, traders said. Rajeev Sahni, who runs a shop selling disposables, said, “The ban on plastic is good. But we need easily available, pocket-friendly alternatives. Reusable crockery can’t be used everywhere, and alternatives are costly. Paper glasses and plates need a film of plastic on them to be able to hold liquid for some time.”

Since supplies from factories and wholesalers have been low recently, retailers have also not been purchasing much, he said.

Another wholesaler in Sadar Bazaar, Dharam Singh, said, “Clear alternatives need to be made available easily. Stock is still available with us, but we cant do anything with it. There have been meetings with representatives from factories on what can be done with it, if it can be returned.”

Vinod Singh also added stock is still in the market as sellers will be left with what they have already purchased.

Directions and public notices were issued on ensuring zero inventory on time, an environment department official said. If that order has not been obeyed, that would amount to losses for the units, as per the official.

The official said enforcement teams of the MCD, revenue department and Delhi Pollution Control Committee will be out on the field from Friday to enforce the ban. Industrial units found manufacturing banned products will be shut, and products will be seized from Friday.

Environmental damage compensation at a rate of Rs 3,000 per machine per day will also be imposed on manufacturers. Revenue department officials can impose a penalty under provisions of the Environment Protection Act, on defaulting units stocking, importing or selling these items.

A three-day fair to promote use of alternatives begins Friday at Thyagraj Stadium. “As it’s a national-level ban, there might be demand-side management, and we should get some good cost-effective alternatives… it will take some time,” the official said.

As per data from the Environment Department from 2020, the city generates around 587 tonnes per day of single-use plastic waste.

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