Cloth-Bag Vending Machines and Waste Segregation Ultimatums New Municipal Minister Agnimitra Paul Tackles Kolkata’s Plastic Menace
In a major push to rid Kolkata of its chronic single-use plastic problem, West Bengal’s newly appointed Municipal Affairs Minister, Agnimitra Paul, announced on Tuesday that cloth-bag vending machines will be installed across city markets within the next three months. Speaking during an inspection of local canals to review drainage preparedness ahead of the monsoon, Paul stated that strict fines will be imposed on individuals using banned single-use plastic bags once the vending machines are fully operational. The move comes as Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) engineers frequently blame discarded plastic bags for clogging gully pits, manholes, and drainage pumping station motors, severely exacerbating urban water-logging during heavy downpours.
Alongside the plastic crackdown, the minister issued a strict seven-day ultimatum regarding waste management. Paul warned that morning waste collectors will completely stop picking up garbage from households that fail to segregate their trash into dry and wet categories. While the citywide segregation initiative was originally launched by the previous Trinamool-led KMC across all 144 wards in December 2022, the drive had largely fizzled out in recent months, with mixed waste routinely being dumped at compactor stations. Appealing to residents for cooperation, Paul noted that while some Indian cities mandate segregation into six distinct categories, Kolkata citizens are only being asked to separate their waste into two basic types to help streamline the city’s environment and drainage systems.
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