Plastic menace is rapidly poisoning the environment and is going to lead to the death of life on earth very soon. We have governments, activists and public pledging various initiatives to curb plastic. A similar local initiative has been conceived by the Municipal Corporation of Hisar where free meals will be provided in exchange for 20 bottles and a cloth bag for 10 plastic bottles.
The initiative is the brainchild of Superintendent Engineer Ramji Lal. The Municipal Corporation approached four different dhabas in Hisar and asked if they could offer free meals in exchange for plastic. Two Dhabas, Janata Bhojanalaya and Shri Hunda Ram Ji Ka Shudha Vaishno Dhaba, readily agreed to cooperate and volunteer for the initiative.
Since there is a plastic ban actively taking place in different states of the country, the rag pickers in Hisar stopped collecting plastic. Taking note of this, the Municipal Corporation came up with this initiative where they plan to make polythene compost and grow plants in the bottles.
Speaking to The Logical Indian, Kashish Arora, owner of Shri Hunda Ram Ji Ka Shudha Vaishno Dhaba said, “The Municipal Corporation called me for a meeting along with three other dhabas and asked if we could provide free meals in exchange for 20 plastic bottles. I readily agreed because it helps the environment to get rid of plastic and it is good for us.”
When asked about how well the initiative has been rolling out, he said, “Since it has been executed just one and a half months earlier, we only had one customer who came with 10 plastic bottles. As time progresses, through media coverage and advertisements, we are expecting more people to become aware of this initiative and participate in it.”
This brilliant idea has two benefits at one shot – first, it helps in cleaning the environment and second, it makes sure that no poor person sleeps in an empty stomach.
Such initiatives coming from the government motivate the public to actively participate in eradicating plastic and contribute their bit to protect the environment. It makes more people aware of pollution and toxic wastes and creates synergy to minimise environmental damage. Every step we take today to make the environment cleaner is a step towards a greener and healthier tomorrow.
