This method is seen by many as a permanent solution to the problem of littering. The new plastic carry bags will be more than half as thick as a milk cover making it viable for householders to store them and the ragpickers to pick them up. ``Ragpickers have to bend down a thousand times to collect one kilo of plastic bags. But now they will have bend less,'' said Arvind Mehta, honorary secretary of the association.But theproposal also met with scepticism by a lot of manufacturers. ``Unless there is a law not many will switch over to manufacturing these bags voluntarily,'' said Samir Gale, a delegate. But a sense of urgency prevailed over the delegates.

``We have spent enough time discussing the problem. Now we need to find a solution to it, quickly,'' said Haresh Dugad, a prominent manufacturer of recycled plastic goods.President of the association, Rajiv Tolani, warned the delegates that a public interest petition has been filed before the Supreme Court a few days ago seeking a ban on plastics bags. ``The court's order brooks no appeal. We need to do something fast,'' he added. The association is likely to meet within a month to finalise its approach to clean the streets of Mumbai. ``We have been given six months. If we do not show results by then we will be destroyed,'' Vijay Merchant, a spokesperson of association said.