August 3, 2018 TnH Global 1

HRAWI organizes seminar on ban of use of plastic products

The Hotel and Restaurant Association of Western India’s (HRAWI) seminar on ‘Ban on use of Plastic Products’ was held at The Leela, Mumbai on 31^st July, 2018. Dr. Sangita Hasnale – Assistant Municipal Commissioner, Nodal officer of Plastic Ban, MCGM was the key speaker at the event and the seminar was attended by many city based hoteliers and restaurateurs. The seminar was kept interactive and Dr. Hasnale offered insights on the various options for the industry to migrate to recyclable materials. Specifically, the seminar helped hospitality players to voice out about the hit on the home delivery services without the availability of spill-proof packing materials.

“The MCGM has been taking several steps to curb the use of plastic to eventually eradicate it completely. The ban on its use is only one of the steps which is being supplemented by MGGM’s other initiatives including raising awareness on alternative materials and healthy disposal of plastic. We would like the hotel industry to partake in this effort and simultaneously, we too will help the industry in transitioning to a plastic free business. The Municipal Corporation too has planned on organizing similar seminars and road-shows for enterprises to participate and understand the several aspects behind the plastic ban move. The MCGM has placed multiple segregation points across the city for F&B operators to dispose-off any plastic they may possess. We look forward to receiving your cooperation and support in making our city plastic free,” says Dr. Sangita Hasnale.

The recent ban on plastic in the State of Maharashtra, while a very progressive and necessary measure, has had a disruptive effect on the restaurant business in the State. The ban disrupts not only the revenues, but impacts as much as 65 per cent of consumers who avail home delivery services, especially in cities like Mumbai.

“We are thankful to Dr. Hasnale for taking out her valuable time for us and for hearing us out. On our part, we will continue to explore options to completely do away with the use of plastic products in our day to day operations. While most restaurants have adapted to the use of non-plastic materials for dry food, delivering liquid food continues to remain a challenge. It should be a matter of time before the industry finds the ideal alternate material to replace plastic and in the meanwhile, we will hope for the Government to give us leeway where there is no present solution,” concludes Mr Dilip Datwani, President, HRAWI.