Plastic is the brand new gold. At least it might result in gold as Farooq Ahmad Ganai in Indian-administered Kashmir has been operating a program the place folks can herald plastic rubbish in trade for gold.
Last yr, a buddy of the 51-year-old Ganai complained to him concerning the piles of rubbish mendacity round in Ganai’s village, he was offended and harm. Deep down, he needed to convey change as he was holding the place of village head, or sarpanch, in his residence village of Sadiwara within the Hiller Shahabad block of South Kashmir’s Anantnag district.
Ganai – a lawyer by occupation – formulated a venture the place he would provide a gold coin for amassing plastic and polythene waste.
He launched the marketing campaign with the slogan “Give Plastic and Take Gold” to deal with the challenges in stable waste administration. In the marketing campaign, he was joined by volunteers from the sanitation division, senior residents, members of youth golf equipment and a few staff from different departments. The marketing campaign was formally permitted by the district administration of Anantnag on Jan. 7.
Under the scheme, any particular person amassing 20 quintals (2,000 kilograms) of plastic waste from the village will get a 10-gram gold coin. There can also be a smaller reward of a 5-gram coin for 10 quintals. For the reward, the village administration has began to gather a person price of 30 rupees ($0.37) from round 400 households within the village.
Ganai mentioned for the reason that marketing campaign’s launch, heaps of plastic and polythene waste have been collected in his village and it was a convincing success as a result of folks get rewards for amassing waste.
“People need some sort of motivation to do certain work, and this plan worked very well,” he mentioned.
Within 15 days of the marketing campaign’s launch, he mentioned that a minimum of 12 spots with an space of 1 kilometer in his village had been cleaned. A neighborhood river, Pranigam, originating from the centuries-old Vatsta spring, was additionally cleaned.
Ganai mentioned that in a span of 4 to 5 months for the reason that marketing campaign was launched, his village is now a litter-free zone. But he admitted that this can’t be an enduring resolution to curb plastic and polythene use.
Banned however nonetheless in use
Since 2006, the High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh has handed a collection of orders banning the usage of polythene and single-use plastics within the area. On the bottom, nevertheless, there was a rise in the usage of polythene and plastic, and heaps of waste are being dumped on roadsides or close to river our bodies.
According to a coverage doc issued in 2018 by the regional housing and concrete growth division, the area generates over 3,000 metric tons of waste every day, with plastic waste accounting for greater than 40% of rubbish, and it will doubtless improve if steps aren’t taken to implement the foundations for stable waste administration within the area.
Shafkat Nazir, an advocate who filed a petition in search of the implementation of stable waste administration guidelines within the area, instructed Anadolu Agency (AA) that it’s unlucky that the authorities are derailing the implementation of the foundations regardless of many directives issued to them.
According to the foundations, all native municipal our bodies are enjoined to take applicable motion for the disposal and therapy of stable waste materials within the area.
However, one of many officers from the Srinagar Municipal Corporation instructed AA that for the foundations to be applied there’s a want for manpower, infrastructure and extra landfilling websites.
In the Kashmir area, there is just one landfill within the capital metropolis Srinagar, which has been declared a well being hazard because it emits a foul scent.
“You are collecting the waste and throwing it in the landfill site, with most of it not being properly treated or disposed of. It will stink more and more and will seriously impact people’s health,” Nazir mentioned.
He added that a variety of petitions have been filed earlier than courts towards municipal our bodies which can be dumping hazardous wastes close to water our bodies.
“You need awareness and implementation of the rules on the ground. Otherwise, it is hard to change the situation,” Nazir mentioned.
Small steps can convey massive change
Back in his village, Ganai is seeking to undertake a mechanism to rework the plastic and polythene waste into gadgets that can be utilized to beautify paths or in decorations.
“I am thinking about this issue more holistically. Although the collection of waste is important, we need to segregate it and make it usable in some form or dispose it properly,” he mentioned.
He additionally mentioned folks should be sensitized concerning the risks of littering, as this impacts the atmosphere, water our bodies, forests and agriculture.
Ganai is hopeful that folks in his village will proceed to assist him on this course of and others will comply with the course.
He mentioned greater than 35 surrounding villages have began to duplicate the concept.
“These small steps give me some hope that we can do good to our environment, if not the best for it,” he mentioned.
Riyaz Ahmad Shah, the assistant commissioner of Anantnag, instructed AA that the marketing campaign has acquired a superb response and they’re making it relevant in all villages.
Source: www.dailysabah.com
