World Environment Day 2018: India can eliminate single-use plastic by 2022, says Harsh Vardhan

Union environment and forest minister Harsh Vardhan said on World Environment Day on Tuesday that single-use plastic could be eradicated by 2022.

“It took us 20 years to eradicate polio from India. But if we have an army of volunteers it would take us less than 20 years to eradicate single-use plastic from India. We can do it by 2022,” Vardhan said while speaking at a programme on World Environment Day.

Vardhan had played a pioneering role in the Pulse Polio program in India. India was declared polio-free in 2014 by World Health Organisation (WHO).

Meanwhile Erik Solheim, executive director of the United Nations Environment Program, who was also present in the program, said that the UNEP would be partnering with spiritual and religious leaders from across the world to spread awareness against plastic pollution.

“We would be partnering with spiritual leaders because they hold important position in the society and have many followers,” said Solheim.