Last week, the Eknath Shinde-led Maharashtra government banned the production of single-use plastic packaging, and plastic-coated and laminated goods in the state. While the new rule disallows the use of dishes, glasses, forks, containers and bowls made with these materials, the green packaging industry that’s been systematically working to create environment-friendly alternatives feels that the state authorities should have taken them into confidence while coming up with effective solutions for industries that are going to be affected by the ban.

Pune-based entrepreneur Udit Bansal’s company Corugami has been working since 2018 to create packaging that avoids use of single-use plastics. For instance, Corugami created a box to transport glass bottles that doesn’t use bubble wrap at all. “The problem isn’t that plastic is not recyclable. When you make packaging material with both plastic and paper, it makes segregation difficult,” says Bansal, while discussing the challenges of plastic-coated goods.