Imagining a modern society free of plastic

The news from Geneva about the global treaty on plastics discussion revived the memory of a week when it seemed certain that the humble panni (polythene bag) was on its way out.

- Krishna Kumar

The municipal authorities of many cities, especially the ones destined to become smart, were swooping down on sabzi mandis and the street-corner fruit and vegetable sellers, who were scared of being found with a sack of pannis. These little bags made of transparent plastic come in handy when customers come without a bag. During the swoop-down week, some customers actually started coming with a cloth bag, but many still needed a panni. The vendors had no choice, so they cautiously took out a panni from a carefuily concealed bag. Once it was handed over to the customers it didn’t matter. In the vegetable market, the word went around minutes before a team of municipal officers came. They went around toppling baskets, ruthlessly dragging out pannis, concealed in sacks. If you were unlucky enough to reach the market an hour later, you felt as if you were at a multiple crash site.

The same week, a long list was published in newspapers, containing every possible item made of single-use plastic. They were all going to be banned. The humble refills of cheap ball pens figured prominently in that list. Were they to go forever, I wondered. But then, as a fortnight passed, everything returned to normal. The officers concerned and their bosses attained a decisive amnesia. Afterwards, no one remembered that plastic was a bad thing — for everyone, including stray cows who languish and die horrible death when a panni gets stuck in their intestines. Rivers, ponds, oceans, playgrounds, and pipelines — plastic is bad for all kinds of public places, but after the awareness week had passed, no one minded it. Worse ironies followed. A bakery I used to like started packing its bread in plastic boxes. A fancy kirana store also switched to these boxes for selling nuts. Officers concerned had melted away for good.