Akangjungla
In June 2024, a viral video showed the Doyang River in Wokha district of Nagaland carrying a huge collection of plastic wastes. The area villagers pointed out that waste accumulation at the Doyang reservoir occurs every year during the monsoon season, especially around June to July. The Chairman of the Biodiversity Management Committee, Pangti has said that during the monsoon, increased river flow carries plastic waste and tree logs from other districts, depositing them at Doyang Dam, submerging and destroying boats and nets of fishermen, as well as polluting marine life. Taking note of the serious environmental hazard caused by the disposal of wastes in the upstream of Doyang dam reservoir, Nagaland Chief Secretary chaired an emergency meeting at the Civil Secretariat, Kohima on June 7. The meeting led to initiate a mission mode of cleaning the debris at Doyang dam within a week and maintain proper documentation records of the entire process. On the following day, an Area Team constituted by Deputy Commissioner, Wokha from the departments of DDMA, Divisional Forest Department, Fishery Department, Water Resource, NEPCO and EAC commenced their task of cleaning and removal of plastic waste accumulated at Doyang reservoir. On day four, the Clean Doyang Mission with participants from various departments and organizations tackled the issue of plastic pollution around the Doyang River reservoir. The Doyang River incident was highlighted by the Nagaland Chief Secretary during a meeting where Nagaland State Government decided “in principle” to ban below one liter water plastic bottles from August 1, 2024.
Around the same date two years back, in an attempt to eradicate the menace of plastic and the serious environmental and ecological challenges posed by the rampant use of plastics, the Ministry for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Government of India had issued a gazette notification last year announcing the ban of ‘single-use plastic’ from July 1, 2022. The Ministry notification directed that “the manufacture, import, stocking, distribution, sale and use of following single-use plastic, including polystyrene and expanded polystyrene, commodities shall be prohibited with effect from the 1st July, 2022.” Accordingly, along with the rest of the country Nagaland State has imposed the ban on single-use plastic from July 1. The items include ear buds with plastic sticks; plastic sticks for balloons; plastic flags; candy sticks; ice-cream sticks; polystyrene (thermocol) for decoration; plates, cups, glasses, cutlery such as forks, spoons, knives, straws, trays; wrapping or packing films around sweet boxes; invitation cards; cigarette packets; plastic or poly-vinyl chloride (PVC) banners less than 100 micron; and stirrers.
Two years since India banned the single-use-plastic crisis is still persistent. This is not the first time India and its states have attempted to impose the plastic ban. Both experts and the laymen are not sure of the degree of success as plastic wastes continue to litter streets, drains, rivers and other locations. It is difficult to evaluate if the ban has reverse the adverse impact of littering of single-use plastic. While the centre and the state governments have worked out the policy-level interventions and mechanisms of implementing the ban, addressing the alternatives aspects is a greater concern for the general public and the traders in the market.
Since the notification has been issued, some 19 single-use plastic items have been or were to be banned in Nagaland; however, end users are yet to feel the impact of it. The rampant use of plastic, mostly carry bags and cutleries are still very much in evidence. The problem lies is in not finding proper alternatives for plastic products in the market. The State has been looking at paper as an alternative but over the years, there has been no serious investment or promotion of the industry. The projection needs to throw some light on other biodegradable alternatives and other agri-based ones such banana fibre, sugarcane pulp etc. With the advancement of science and technology, various agro wastes are used as bioplastics. Conversely, it also means planting more trees and growing plants for commercial goals. The utilization of agricultural waste or by-products in the production of bioplastics comes with its own limitations due to the low cost-effective waste management system, low production yield etc. Hence, the alternatives have its limitations and cannot be a replacement for single-use plastic for all purposes.
The Centre has directed the state governments to initiate enforcement campaign and close down units engaging in manufacturing, distribution, stocking and sale of single-use plastic items, but the actual enforcement of the law is in the hands of individuals. Even as the quest continues to discover the alternatives, which is not only as durable and cheap as single-use plastic but also safe for the environment and the ecosystem, consumers can effectively and consciously take two steps - reduce and replace. Individuals have to reduce the dependence on use of single-use plastic. Using textile or other fiber bags can be a good start. The second step would be to replace single-use plastics with eco-friendly alternatives. Switching to eco-friendly options would be costlier and here, consumers have the choice to contribute towards plastic free environment.
Comments can be sent to akangjungla@gmail.com
