In I'puram, paper trumps over polythene!

Why use polythene when simple paper bags can suffice! This thought has driven the efforts of Ghaziabad residents who are both making and distributing paper bags to neighbourhood vendors. The initiative was originally started by a group of high-rise residents, under the aegis of the neighbourhood “Green Team”.

Groups of society residents gathered at Ashiana Upvan last weekend to compete in the chore of making paper bags. Around 40 residents, who worked individually and in groups, made over 500 bags in just over half an hour. They brought along with them old newspapers and glue.

Residents make bags from old newspapers

Speaking to City Spidey, Devyani Paramanand, a resident of Ashiana Upvan, said, “The residents and AOA members participated in the competition, which included storytelling and other activities. We have also looped in children of the society and are planning to involve the maids too.”

Talks are on to have more societies on board.

Jayati Jain, a member of Green Team, and a resident of Cloud 9 society, said “Residents from almost all societies are into making these bags, and are also planning to conduct such competitions in their societies. I, too, make these bags at home and give them to the vendors near our society.”

Around 40 residents made over 500 bags

However, the residents maintained that this initiative is yet to gather momentum and also requires participation of the vendors. “We always try to persuade the vendors to use paper bags,” Paramanand said.

Speaking to City Spidey, a street vendor from Ahinsa Khand 2, said customers normally prefer polythene bags, as they are more durable and can be reused. “Many customers also use reusable cloth bags. Avoiding polythene bags is also profitable for us, as we don’t need to incur extra expenditure,” the vendor said.

The paper bags are then distributed to vendors in the area