In a bid to curb the use of single-use plastic and make Bharat Swachh, Indian Railway has decided to ban the use of single-use plastic within its premises. Following the order, the union Railway ministry had also issued a circular to ensure that the ban is implemented from October 2, 2019.
October 2, 2019, will mark the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. Notably, the decision comes after Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his Independence Day speech stressed on the dire need to ban non-reusable plastic alongside issues like population explosion.
To preserve the Environment, Indian Railways resolves to ban single use plastic material in Railway premises from 2nd Oct.2019. Minimal generation of plastic waste & its eco-friendly disposal is being emphasised.
Join us in our endeavour to make IR as ‘Plastic Free Railways’. pic.twitter.com/GaE7IkmLoe— Ministry of Railways (@RailMinIndia) August 21, 2019
Railway Issues Circular
The circular released by the Railways direct the authorities to install approx 1,800 plastic crushing machines at 360 stations in the first phase. Railway’s employees have also been asked to cut the use of inexpensive plastic and have been advised to use “reduceable, reuseable and refusable” plastic products.
Moreover, the circular also highlights the Indian Railways Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) responsibility to collect single-use plastic water bottles from the passengers as a part of Extended Producer Responsibility.
The developments from the Railways come as a practical response to Narendra Modi’s I-Day speech from the Red Fort, where he had urged citizens to reduce the use of single-use plastic.
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“Can we free India from single-use plastic? The time for implementing such an idea has come. May teams be mobilized to work in this direction. Let a significant step be made on October 2,” he had said.
Lok Sabha Secretariat totally prohibits the use of non-reusable plastic water bottles and other plastic items within the Parliament House Complex. #ParliamentofIndia#PlasticfreeIndia
— LOK SABHA (@LokSabhaSectt) August 21, 2019
Meanwhile, the use of single-use plastic has also been barred in the parliament complex. For the inundated, Lok Sabha Secretariat had announced the prohibition of the use of non-reusable plastic water bottles and other plastic items within the Parliament House Complex. The Secretariat said it was “a step towards the call by the Prime Minister to the nation to make the country free from plastics”.
