unless something really convincing and affordable is implemented going for banana leaves is not going to be convenient because the production of banana leaves is less it will cost us more and they are not suitable for carrying things like we can carry with plastic bags plastic bags are cheaper in rate but if it is replaced with paper bags it is again going to be a challenge paper bags are not waterproof and not strong enough to carry large quantity of flowers like plastic bags its again going to be a flop switching to cloth bags might work but its going to be expensive for us we get flowers from koyambedu every morning and it comes in plastic baskets and big plastic bags from neighbouring districts and states for transporting flowers in bulk we might opt for carton boxes but we are not sure how it is going to keep the flowers fresh and in good shape says srinivasan srinivasan and kannan have been selling flowers for two decades in t nagarpackaging liquid food items are going to be big challengewe have already initiated the process of reducing the plastic use and to start with the take away food items will be packed in fresh banana leaves and covered with aluminum foil or a thick paper we are in the process of replacing the plastic carry bags with nonwoven bags we are bringing thick paper boxes for packing sweets and we are working on introducing pulp plates areca nut leaves plates thick paper cups for coffee and packaging liquid items like gravies and soup it is going to be a challenge to pack sambar chutney and gravies as its not easy to pack them in leaves or paper wraps the cost of the packaging material will definitely go up r saravanan partner hotel saravana bhavancarry shopping bag from homei understand it is slightly difficult to eliminate plastic completely from my life today my family has taken a few steps towards reducing it and refusing plastic for over three years we have been segregating waste at our home the wet waste is made into compost and used for our garden to grow veggies we use a handmade wire basket koodai or jute bag to buy grocery many a time if we go shopping on the way from work and miss having our regular bags we buy minimally and refuse to use plastic carry bags i buy only things that i can put under my twowheeler seats every time we buy meat we carry our own steel tiffin boxes or vessels it is not too hard to follow these small things that can contribute to keeping our environment plasticfree for the next generation archana stalin myharvest a project that is helping city dwellers to grow their own chemicalfree green vegetables and fruits in their homesinstall leaf crusher machines to avoid bulk disposalit is high time that all the major food brands geared up and start sourcing alternative packing and serving materials