It is understandable that consumers are switching over to supermarket chains for household shopping. These outlets offer competitively priced groceries and other essentials under one roof. An unfortunate offshoot of this phenomenon, though, is the alarmingly high use of plastic in both product wrappings and carrybags . Consumer organisations and environmentalists have raised concerns about this trend. Says Sriram Khanna of Delhi's Consumer Voice, "Some hill states have banned the use of plastic bags. (But) basically retailers do not pay attention to eco-friendly aspects. Consumer education is also missing.'' In a positive development, though, retail chains Times of India spoke to expressed willingness to reduce their plastic usage. Subhiksha, for instance, has already introduced a 0.5% discount on bill if a consumer brings in his own carrybag. "It's to promote green habits,'' says R Subramaniam, managing director at Subhiksha. Kishore Biyani, managing director at Pantaloon Retail (India), says their KB's Fair Price shops encourages consumers to carry their own bags. Andrew Levermore, chief executive officer at HyperCity Retail (India), is reticent about disclosing the company's green initiatives, but speaks of "an advanced plan which will be revealed in three months'' . While the use of thin plastic bags is banned under the Recycled Plastics Manufacture and Usage Rules, 1999 (amended 2003), and various state rules, Kushal Pal Singh Yadav, coordinator at Delhi's Centre for Science and Environment , says thick bags carry their own set of problems. "Thick plastic bags are the most difficult to degrade.'' To ensure restraint in their usage, Yadav suggests, "There is a concept called extended producer responsibility . Make a producer responsible for disposing of bags. It should not be the responsibility of municipalities alone.'' The ministry of environment and forests too is exploring this concept. "When I can have an extensive distribution system, I must establish a collectionback system too... We lived all our lives without plastic bags. We can live now too. Once you impose a ban, alternatives come in,'' says a source in the ministry, adding, "Retailers must set up state-of-the-art recycling centres.'' A Mumbai resident who lived in the United States for many years says every grocery store there offers the option of paper or plastic carrybags. Besides, "large bins are kept outside the stores to collect used plastic bags'' . Closer home, Delhi's Shyamala Mani, programme director, waste and resource management, Centre for Environment Education (CEE), advises : "Malls are the best places to easily promote paper, jute, even non-woven cloth bags and other materials which are biodegradable.'' Individual states, on their part, have their own anti-plastic initiatives in place, albeit for the thin variety.