In a step beneficial to waste pickers across the country, Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Prakash Javadekar, on Sunday, March 8, said that from January 2021, the Centre would make it mandatory for sanitary pad manufacturers to provide bio-degradable bags for the disposal of each pad.
The Minister was speaking at an International Women’s Day event in Pune, where he interacted with waste collectors. While these rules already exist, they are not followed by the sanitary pad manufacturers, the Minister said.
“We have observed that while the production and usage of sanitary napkins and diapers has greatly increased in the country, they are still being discarded in a way which is harmful to waste pickers. We will make it mandatory from January 2021 that all sanitary pad manufacturers will have to compulsorily give degradable bags for disposal of each sanitary napkin,” Javadekar was quoted inThe Hindu.
Furthermore, Javadekar said that the waste pickers should be addressed as ‘Swachhta Sevika’ as they were doing a great service to the nation.
“These women have four vital qualities of consistency, compassion, courage and capacity for decision-making. I salute the Swachhta Sevikas gathered here today who are helping in realising the dream of Swachh, Swasth, Hit and Fit India,” he said.
He also said that the existing rules for compulsory picking of garbage and disposal for municipal towns will be now made mandatory for all the habitations with a population higher than 3000. He further emphasised on the decentralised model wherein the garbage from educational institutes and housing societies are disposed on the premises itself.