Source ForPressRelease.com

The Maharashtra government’s decision to ban the use of plastic has been welcomed by different sections of the society. Among them is Growel’s 101 Mall that has always believed in putting their best foot forward to safeguard the environment and do their bit for public welfare.



As an extension of this, the Mall joined hands with NGO Aadharika Samaj that works towards women’s empowerment. The mall organised a special drive from 21st to 27th April for citizens and appealed to those living in the surrounding areas to be a part of the drive where they could carry back with them cloth and eco-friendly bags which could be recycled and reused. Also, those who brought their plastic bags and bottles to the mall were gifted a plant in return. These bags were sold by Aadharika Samaj at minimal costs and were specially created by underprivileged women associated with the NGO. Bags were also given away to loyalty customers at the Mall.



On March 23, the Maharashtra Plastic and Thermocol Products notification was issued to ban the manufacture, use, storage, distribution, sale, import and transportation of all kinds of plastic items. The ban covers a wide range of items like plastic bags, thermocol, disposable cups and plates, cutlery, non-woven polypropylene bags, plastic pouches and packaging.Following the news, shopkeepers are now refusing to give plastic bags to customers which is compelling people to use cloth bags.



Speaking about the initiative, Vikas Shetty, Mall Head, Growel’s 101 Mall said, “As an organisation that has always believed in safeguarding and protecting the environment, we welcome the move to ban plastic and appeal to citizens to follow the rule. It is high time that people use cloth bags instead of plastic ones since it is a major step towards healthy living. The menace and damage caused by excessive careless and needless use of plastic has caused a massive damage to the ecosystem.”Vikas added, “We need to find solutions and as a little step from our side, we organised this special drive where we collected old plastic bags from citizens. They in turn were incentivised as they could buy cloth bags from representatives of Aadharika Samaj at nominal rates.”



A painting competition was also organised to create awareness on the occasion of World Earth Day regarding the ban. Environmentalist Shubhajit Mukherjee gave a talk about the pressing need for plastic ban.