The city of Madurai is readying itself for a ban on plastic bags under 40 microns.

The Madurai Corporation's ban on plastic bags and related products under 40 microns comes into effect on September 1st 2012 in India.

This marks a huge step forward in the way in which the city tackles its problem of plastic waste, which has been causing huge environmental problems and blights the natural environment.

If any business is found to be selling plastic bags that are beneath this new limit, they will be confiscated, Madurai's mayor VV Rajan Chellappa stated.

Furthermore, in a bid to crack down on this and make the city greener, businesses and individuals found to be breaking the new law will receive varying fines.

It is hoped that this will help to foster a new attitude to plastic bags and reduce the dependency people have on them.
There is a lot of support for this ban, which received a unanimous backing from the city's officials, as they are keen on tackling the proliferation of unnecessary garbage.

To encourage businesses to use plastic bags over 40 microns – as well as paper bags – Madurai Corporation has fittingly increased the cost of them.

At present, it has been reported that the city, which is based in the south Indian state of Tamil Nadu, used to generate up to 450 tonnes of waste every single day.

Much of this is non-biodegradable, with plastic bags in abundance in waste tips.

This is a consequence of a culture that has developed where people acquire and dispose of plastic bags on a daily basis.

The solution would be to reuse them, or acquire strong, durable paper bags, which could then be used again and again.