In 2022, GCC seized 1.12L kg of banned plastics from traders

CHENNAI: As a part of efforts to make Chennai a plastic-free city, the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) in the year 2022, had seized a total of 1,12,843 kilograms of banned plastic from the traders, and over Rs 2.90 crore was collected as a fine amount from the concerned shops across the city.

Though the State government banned the 14 types of single-use plastic, many shops still sell plastic items. And, people end up littering public places which leads to harm the environment and marine life too. In order to protect the environmental damage, the civic body authorities carry out several activities especially on solid waste management to ensure the city is litter free.

According to GCC data, from January 1 – December 31, 2022, as many as 2, 92,288 trades were inspected, of which 1.12 lakh kg of plastic was seized from the commercial establishments. The highest amount of banned plastic items was seized in Royapuram zone (zone 5) with 46,775 kgs.

Followed by the Kodambakkam zone (zone 10) where 13,841 kg and Teynampet zone 10,184 kg plastic took away by the local body authorities. However, in other zones, less than 8,000 kgs of banned plastics were seized.

The authorities imposed a fine against the concerned shop owners to ensure the activity is not repeated in the coming days. Several shops in zone 5 had paid the highest amount of penalty with Rs 36.40 lakh, and the least fine was imposed on Manali zone (zone 2) with Rs 8.81 lakh. The traders are advised to make sure that customers bring their own cloth bags to purchase things.