Delhi Students swear to make Delhi Plastic Waste Free in Pandit Deendayal Upadhayay Smriti Manch Conclave
New Delhi, 25th September: To fulfil the vision of our honorable Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi ji to make India plastic waste free, Pandit Deendayal Upadhayay Smriti Manch (PDUSM) and Shri Vinod Shukla, National President of PDUSM and nephew of Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay, on the occasion of 103rd birth anniversary of Late Pandit Deendayal ji, organized a conclave at NDMC Convention Centre, New Delhi today. The conclave was honored by Shri Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Cabinet Minister in Ministry of Jal Shakti, Shri Shyam Jaju, National Vice President – BJP, Shri Manoj Tiwari, MP, amongst other dignitaries. The conclave was attended by students of Delhi who took oath to educate citizens about Plastic Waste Collection and recycling and committed to make Delhi Plastic Waste Free.
The aim behind the conclave was to tackle the pollution caused by plastic waste at the neighborhood level in Delhi, through collaboration with Eco Clubs of Delhi schools and colleges. The campaign is divided into three phases. In the first phase, PDUSM and eco-clubs will educate students of Delhi NCR based colleges and schools about the ways to tackle plastic pollution. In the second phase, the students will educate their respective family members, and along with the volunteers of PDUSM will hold education workshops in local communities/societies. The third phase will be citizen led movement to collect waste across Delhi along with the waste pickers community, which will be sent to a recycling facility to convert the collected waste into daily use products.
The college and school students along with the Principals of Lady Irwin, Lady Sriram, Miranda House, Hindu, St. Stephen’s, Khalsa, Acharya Narendra Dev, and others, participated in the conclave and were awarded for their contribution toward making India plastic waste free. The schools who participated were DAV Public School, Ryan International, DPS, Cambridge School, Bhatnagar International School, etc.
Addressing the audience during the conclave Shri Vinod Shukla said, “The first step in realizing the Plastic Waste Free India dream of our honorable Prime Minister is to educate citizens about different types of plastics used in packaging and the process of disposal, collection and recycling of plastic waste. Plastics should be categorized in two categories – good and bad, on basis of the recycling rate & value, safe reusability and employment generation. The plastics which have no reusability, and which do not actually get recycled should be considered as single use plastic. e.g. Poly bags, straws/stirrers, thermocol, disposable cutlery. Every Indian citizen must adopt 3Rs in his/her life – Refuse single use plastic like thin poly bags, straws, cups/plates with eco-friendly alternatives. Reduce dependency on multi-layered packaging such as Tetra Pack which are difficult to recycle due to multi-material composition. And, recycle single polymer rigid packaging like HDPE, PP and PET to produce value-added products.”
Shri Gajendra Singh Shekhawat ji, Cabinet Minister for Jal Shakti Ministry, said “Pt. Deendayal ji is an inspiration to all of us. His nephew Vinod Shukla and the manch’s efforts to make our country Plastic Waste free is commendable. On Deendayal ji’s 103rd Birth anniversary, we all should take an oath to protect our mother earth from pollution caused by single use plastic waste. And, never forget the role of waste picker community which plays a pivotal role in keeping our cities clean.”
Shri Shyam Jaju Ji, National Vice President – BJP, “Education and innovation are crucial to deal with the challenges our society and the environment. Equipping the next generation of inventors and entrepreneurs with the abilities and innovative instincts, will result in the creation of a reformative society and a greener environment. An initiative led by school and college students is the need of the hour to tackle plastic pollution in India and reduce plastic waste in Delhi.”
The event was also attended by environmentalist, scientists, academicians, Principals of 40+ colleges of University of Delhi and various Schools in the Delhi NCR region, teaching faculties, eco-club members and students. During the event live case studies on circular economy of plastic waste, inclusion of waste pickers and its impact on the economy and employment generation was also discussed.
