Mumbai has set a ban on plastic in the recent years but unfortunately, these rules are not as strictly enforced as they should be. A feared group by the name of the “blue squad” sets out on the streets of markets to thoroughly check shops for plastic bags, utensils, plates and cups of a certain size. Dressed in blue vests, their target is to fine any shopkeepers and street vendors a hefty 5,000 rupee fine for the use of plastic. Although not intimidating, the group is feared due to their “no questions, no excuses” motto. The people of Mumbai have either voluntarily switched to paper bags or learned the hard way and had to pay the fine and then switch. The ban was prompted by vast quantities of plastic rubbish clogging up the already blocked drains in this year’s monsoon. This was extremely dangerous because of the hazardous weather conditions that the 20 million people on the island had to face. Personally, I was very intrigued while reading this article because I find environmental issues to be extremely interested and important because it affects countries worldwide and we have yet to continue plans for the future generations. Anne George stated, “our goal is not to punish but to make people aware. Don’t do it for us, do it for your children.” as part of a way to inspire the shopkeepers to follow the plastic ban. The most interesting action the blue squad took was forcing American companies such as Starbucks and McDonald to abide by the same rules. This should lead to greater motivation for the U.S. to take the same actions as Mumbai and benefit from the positive environmental outcomes. Although implementing fines and creating a group of volunteers to establish order seems like a lot of work, I think it would definitely be worth it because of the greater good and longer lasting affect a clean environment will have for the generations to come. The only question I took away from this article was where all the money from the fines go to. The blue squad should take the money to either better their program or give it to a charity regarding environmental issues.
