Government goes for plastic 'surgery', to bring in norms for recycling plastic waste
Javadekar said that according to estimates, 2 million tonnes of plastic remains uncollected annually.
In Short
- A notification for EPR norms to be out soon
- Two million tonnes of plastic remains uncollected annually
- Government wants trees along rail tracks
'Make in India' is a welcome theme but if it is 'Make plastic in India', beware. The government will soon bring in norms putting the onus on large plastic manufacturers to make attempts to get back plastic bottles and other plastic products so that those can be recycled, Rajya Sabha was told today. The notification regarding this will be out soon.
"The Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) norms have been brought in because collection of plastic waste is a major challenge", HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar said while replying to questions on behalf of Environment Minister Madhav Dave who was not present in the house.
Javadekar said that according to estimates, 2 million tonnes of plastic remains uncollected annually.
He said plastic was useful but uncollected plastic was bad.
Javadekar informed of an eco-friendly approach of the Environment Ministry by teaming up with the Road, Transport and Highways Ministry so that both sides of the country's national highways can be made green. The same effort, he said is on with the state governments as well.
Similarly, they are also teaming up with the Railways to ensure that trees are planted along rail tracks, he added.
He also said that a report has been prepared by the Forest Research Institute on the kind of trees which can be planted.
Besides, state municipalities and Gram Panchayats will also be roped in for a green approach.
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