Plastic is one of the most pressing environmental problems that Indians are facing today. We are generating about 3.5 million tonnes of plastic waste annually. As well as the per capita plastic waste generation has almost doubled over the last 5 years. It has become the cause of landfills overflowing in cities and contamination of water. Plastic Pollution adversely affects the ecosystems and it also causes air pollution and global warming.
In such a scenario, imagine being able to report littering-related issues online. Seems like a far-fetched idea but with the recent step taken by the Government, it is not so far.
The Green Delhi App
The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) has released an app that allows individuals in Delhi to report the production, stocking, or distribution of single-use plastic. Union environment minister Bhupendra Yadav launched the Green Delhi App —’single-use plastic’ (SUP) to submit complaints about plastic items, which are banned from July 1.
These prohibitions come under the New Plastic Waste Management Rule-2021. The new NPM Rule-2021 aims to establish a pan-India ban on single-use plastic at the production and supply levels. The rules, however, had already banned single-use plastic below the thickness of 75 microns since September 2021.
Earbuds with plastic sticks, plastic sticks for balloons, plastic flags, candy sticks, ice-cream sticks, polystyrene (thermocol) for decoration, plastic-made plates, cups, glasses, cutlery, straw, wrapping or packing films around sweet boxes, invitation cards, and cigarette packets, and plastic or PVC banners less than 100 microns will be no longer be in use. One can no longer use plastic bags smaller than 120 microns under the new regulations from December 31, 2022.
Ashwini Kumar Choubey, Minister of State for Environment, stated that the E-Governance portals launched by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) and CPCB, such as the EPR portal and the mobile app for SUP grievance redressal, would go a long way toward ensuring the complete phase-out of single-use plastic.
How is it going to help us?
In addition to the app, a dashboard will bring all the stakeholders, including national and state governments, together to track the elimination of SUP. The minister also unveiled a web portal for plastic packaging by CPCB for ease of reporting compliance with the new rules by the manufacturer, importers, and owners.
This app is one of the most effective steps taken by the government. It will not only allow the people of Delhi to raise complaints but will also spread awareness among the citizens. It will make people aware of their responsibility to make educated and conscious choices regarding the disposal of plastic products.