Mumbai: Non-woven polypropylene (PP) bags, which have a striking similarity to cloth bags, have become a major bone of contention in the implementation of the plastic ban.

People are up in arms against BMC inspectors after being asked to pay a fine for using non-woven PP bags, which have been prohibited under the plastic ban.

A civic inspector said that they are finding it difficult to convince people that non-woven PP bags are made of plastic only.

“People find it hard to believe. Their main contention is these bags look like cloth bags and hence they refuse to pay the fine,” said an inspector.

“It’s very difficult to differentiate between non-woven PP bags and cloth bags. Both type of bags look exactly the same. In order to ban the non-woven PP bags, the state should ban their manufacture. Instead, they are levying a fine on the common man,” said Vinay Surve, a Mulund resident.

PP bags are made of synthetic plastic polymer. Woven PP is composed of polymer fibres woven together perpendicularly to make sheets. Non-woven PP takes those fibres and presses them under heat to create a sealed sheet.

“The non-woven PP bags are not recycled often and are thus harmful for the environment. They have been banned and we want people to discard their use,” said deputy municipal commissioner Nidhi Choudhari.

On Friday, the BMC’s teams of inspectors visited 5,664 shops and collected a fine of `1.35 lakh. They also seized 20 kg of banned plastic during the drive.