McDonald’s hit by plastic ban in Mumbai

MUMBAI: Burger King, McDonald’s and Starbucks are among dozens of companies fined for violating a new ban on single-use plastics in India’s commercial capital Mumbai, an official said on Tuesday.

The rules, in force since Saturday, prohibit the use of disposable plastic items such as bags, cutlery, cups and bottles under a certain size. Businesses and residents face fines of between 5,000 rupees for a first-time offence to 25,000 rupees or even three months in jail for repeat offending.

Some 250 officials, wearing blue uniforms and dubbed Mumbai’s "anti-plastic squad", have been deployed to carry out inspections of restaurants and shops across the teeming coastal city of 20 million.

Nidhi Choudhari, a deputy municipal commissioner in charge of enforcing the ban, said 660,000 rupees in fines had been collected during the first three days.

She said 132 premises had been issued with penalties including outlets of Burger King, McDonald’s and Starbucks. A branch of Godrej Nature’s Basket, a high-end Indian supermarket, had also been penalised, Choudhari added.