Aid for firms providing substitutes to plastic use

NEW DELHI:  Environment Minister Gopal Rai on Friday said the city government will assist start-ups providing alternatives to single-use plastic to the best of its potential. A mass movement is required to create awareness against single-use plastic items, the minister said.

“The government will assist startups offering alternatives to single-use plastic, for which an action plan has been prepared. The city government has drawn up a framework for adopting several alternative models,” the minister said.

He was addressing a training programme on ‘Single-Use Plastic and Plastic Waste Management’ organised in collaboration with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). Rai said plastic forks, straws, polythene, plastic glasses, and other single-use plastics that cannot be reused are discarded and in such a situation, adequate information is needed for the effective management of plastic waste, not only for those who produce it but also for those who pick it up and manage it.

“This UNEP training programme will provide better information to the people working in this field. Also, it will be easier to adopt the legal process related to it,” he added