Dr Asad Rahmani, Director, BNHS, said that lack of awareness of the hazards caused by plastic bags has led to the problem. ``Apart from supporting the ban, we also want to appeal to the people,'' he said.

He stated that irrespective of the possibility of the government backing out from their stand to ban plastic, the BNHS would continue to support the ban. ``The plastic industry, a fairly strong lobby, is trying hard to raise objections. But I find that their talk of putting people out of employment if the bag industry is sealed off, pure humbug. There are thousands who make a living out of drug peddling, but that does not mean that drug peddling should be allowed to continue andflourish.''

Non-government organisations lending their support to the project are Nirmala Niketan, Sanctuary, the World Wide Fund for nature, Beauty Without Cruelty, Save Bombay Committee and Bombay Environmental Action Group (BEAG).Among commercial establishments, Casuals boutique at Bandra has declared `No Plastic Day' from today until August 15. They have been requesting their customers to carry their own bags while shopping, and will also spread the message of hazards of using plastic with posters in their shop.