INTERNATIONAL PLASTIC BAG- FREE DAY July 3rd was International Plastic Bag Free Day and the Zero Waste Himalaya Group geared themselves up for the challenge. Across the two places, Sikkim and Darjeeling, the issues with the plastic bags are somewhat similar but also varied. Sikkim was one of the first states to ban the bag with very successful implementation till many years, but of late with lack of monitoring, in many places the bag is making a comeback. Darjeeling town has been witness to a few ban attempts but these have had rather weak implementation support. In Sikkim, the plastic bag ban comes only under the Trade Acts and Rules notifications, that states no shops shall hand out goods in plastic bags to customers. This holds only the shopkeepers liable to the ban. In both places, however, a serious issue and one that most people are ignorant about is that of the widespread use of non - woven poly propylene bag or the PP bag, which has replaced the plastic bag in the gu