Chennai. What is Manjappai? You know it if you belong to a Tamil household.

Back in the days when there were no plastic bags, Manjappai used to be a lot more than just a yellow fabric bag that used to hang on the wooden door. Probably the carrier of subtle emotions of all family members. No need to mention how the age of ‘fancy and plastic everything’ faded such memories, as well as the significance of Manjappai, like many other things. 

In the age when we are witnessing the harmful effects of plastic and are figuring out ways to find an alternative which is sustainable and eco-friendly, Trichy decided to go ‘old-school’ by promoting the use of Manjappai - easy to make, easy to care, with the added benefits of being biodegradable and environment friendly. 

How did it happen? 

Even after three years of the Tamil Nadu government ordering a ban on the manufacture, sale, and usage of plastic and polystyrene commodities, single-use plastics are still in widespread use.

To this, the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) has come up with a solution of installing automatic yellow cloth (Manjappai) vending machines at various locations, starting with the District Collector M Pradeep Kumar's Office in Trichy. This first of its kind machine in Trichy dispenses a Manjappai (12 inch long) on depositing a coin of Rs 10 and has the capacity to dispense 100 such bags. The vending machine (Rs 1.4 lakh) is developed by a Chennai based company and is sponsored by TNPL under a CSR initiative. 

TNPCB officials also informed that they are planning to request women, who stitch bags for Mahalir Thittam Department, to take the responsibility here as well. 

According to TNPCB, promoting Manjappai is an endeavor to encourage people to skip using plastic and use the alternative sustainable cloth bag. It will be soon installed at other places including commercial streets where people can use it the way they use ATMs to withdraw money. 

Starting the campaign from the District Collector’s office will motivate the public to adapt to a ‘sans-plastic’ lifestyle. The vending machine is already very popular and is attracting a lot of people to get ‘Manjappai’ to carry items of daily use.