Launch of Awareness Mascot ‘Prakriti’ & Green Initiatives for Effective Plastic Waste Management

Launch of Awareness Mascot ‘Prakriti’ & Green Initiatives for Effective Plastic Waste Management

Part of: GS-Prelims and GS-III: Environment, Conservation

Context: ‘Prakriti’ is a mascotto to spread greater awareness among masses about small changes that can be sustainably adopt in our lifestyle for a better environment, and on the various green initiatives taken by Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change and Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) to ensure effective Plastic Waste Management (PWM) in the country.

• To tackle the challenge of plastic pollution, PM Modi announced India’s pledge to phase out Single Use Plastics (SUPs) by 2022. 

• The recently released IPCC Working Group III talks about contribution to the IPCC Sixth Assessment Report (AR6), which focuses on mitigation measures to keep the world aligned to the Plastic Waste Management goals and what we can do to remain on the roadmap set by the Paris Agreement.
• Representatives from 175 countries meeting at the resumed fifth session of the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA-5.2) in Nairobi March 2, 2022, agreed to end plastic pollution and formulate an internationally binding treaty by 2024. 

Plastic Waste Management (PWM)

Plastic has become one of the most pressing environmental issues that we are facing today. India is generating about 3.5 Million Tonnes of plastic waste annually and the per capita plastic waste generation has almost doubled over the last five years. Plastic Pollution adversely affects our ecosystems and is also linked to air pollution.

• Plastic waste is a risk to public health as it enters our food chain, creates congestion problems in drains, causing flooding, ends up in river beds and oceans, depleting ecosystems and marine biodiversity, and makes solid waste management more expensive as landfills and open incineration do not provide an acceptable solution for disposal.
• The production process for plastic produces greenhouse gas, thus contributing to climate change.
• At landfills, it disintegrates into small fragments and leaches carcinogenic metals into groundwater. Plastic is highly inflammable — a reason why landfills are frequently ablaze, releasing toxic gases into the environment. It floats on the sea surface and ends up clogging airways of marine animals.

Following green initiatives for plastic waste management were launched:

• National Dashboard on Elimination of Single Use Plastic and Plastic Waste Management (MoEFCC) to bring all stakeholders including Central Ministries/ Departments, State/UT Governments at one place and track the progress made for elimination of single use plastic (SUP) and effective management of plastic waste.
• Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) Portal for Plastic Packaging (CPCB) for improving accountability, traceability, transparency and facilitating ease of reporting compliance to EPR Obligations by Producers, Importers and Brand-owners
• Mobile App for Single Use Plastics Grievance Redressal (CPCB) to empower citizens to check sale/usage/manufacturing of SUP in their area and tackle the plastic menace.
• Monitoring module for SUP (CPCB), for local bodies, SPCBs/PCCs and CPCB, to inventorize details of SUP production/ sale & usage in commercial establishments at district level, and on-ground enforcement of ban on SUP.
• Industrial production of Graphene from Waste Plastic (G B Pant NIHE & NRDC) to promote more industries to come forward to up cycle plastic waste

News Source: PIB