Puja’s plastic leftovers spark pollution worry
Times of India | 18 October 2024“We deployed extra trucks at each of the puja clusters for faster removal of waste.These days, nearly 70% of the waste is plastic,” said an official of the solid waste management (SWM) department of KMC.
One of the major parts of the plastic waste is PVC banners, which are mostly single-use. WBPCB has asked puja organisers to dispose of them through empanelled recyclers. “But most of the puja organisers don’t bother about such things. Thus, it must be stopped at source,” said Subhas Datta, a green activist.
KMC officials admitted that it was nearly impossible to physically inspect each puja. A KMC representative mentioned that they were unaware of the materials used to make these banners that are not in demand in the recycling market. They are likely to end up at neighborhood grounds, vacant areas or the Dhapa landfill. A WBPCB official noted that these banners, being impermeable, create a barrier between layers of waste at the landfill. This barrier prevents proper contact between the waste layers, significantly delaying the natural decomposition process.
“I think the generation and disposal of plastic waste is a management issue. A majority of the plastic waste generated during the puja is recyclable in one or the other way. If every puja organiser is tied up with a recycler, it makes the job of KMC easy and plastic waste doesn’t need to reach the landfill sites,” said Indranil Goho, a plastic-recycle expert.
Climate activist Ajay Mittal, who launched a campaign against improper disposal of plastic waste, said, “I was delighted this year to see digital hoarding replacing PVC banners. But I was disheartened with the widespread use of single-use plastic and other plastic items that are completely banned.”
