Perhaps no responsibility is as daunting for the Municipal Committee of Delhi as the safe disposal of non-hazardous plastic waste generated within the city’s boundaries.
Though there is an accepted code for its classification for recycling purposes and an organized sector that considers it a valuable input, the sheer volume of single- use low- quality plastic, and difficult- to-separate multi-layered plastic makes plastic the most conspicuous component of litter in public places. It is also an easy-accessible subject for lamenting against civic authorities.
In this tortuous space, two RWAs of adjacent colonies have decided to step in with some remedial plans for curtailing the omnipresent eye sore The Anand Niketan RWA has tied up with an NGO for regular collection of assorted plastic waste from a strategically located bin. The Rotary Club of Janakpuri has been persuaded to donate an attractive bench made with processed plastic to underscore the point made by the hoarding which lists the large number of items an abandoned plastic bag can be made a part of.
A subgroup of the Shanti Niketan Residents Association, Aao Milo, to reduce the volume of plastic waste has taken to heart the slogan, ‘ek thaili sau panniyon par bhari…meri thaili meri zimmewari.’ One should all have multiple carry bags handy, its members say, so that the thin plastic bag in which a vendor routinely packs a purchase can be immediately emptied and returned. They have enrolled local home-based seamstresses to make carry bags from sturdy donated fabric. Satya Prakash Dwivedi who owns the Safal outlet and Rajbala Singhal, manageress of Singhal Provision Stores in the South Moti Bagh Market have agreed to sell these bags for Rs 25 per bag. 80 percent of this amount will go to the girls who make the bags.
More RWAs need to join in to take on the plastic menace.
