MoU to Tackle Plastic Pollution

In News

Recently, the National Cadet Corps (NCC) and United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to tackle the issue of plastic pollution.

Key Points

• Clean water Goal: 
  • This MoU will help achieve the universal goal of clean water bodies through ‘Puneet Sagar Abhiyan’ and ‘Tide Turners Plastic Challenge programme’.
• Aim: 
  • To synergise and collate efforts towards engaging youth for promoting clean water bodies
• Objective: 
  • To engage in capacity building and awareness on environmental sustainability through information sharing and training initiatives; 
  • Promote opportunities for NCC cadets to participate in appropriate national and international platforms related to environment and climate change and 
  • Engage in and develop joint initiatives of mutual intent pertaining to environment and climate change.
• ‘Puneet Sagar Abhiyan’ – a Tide Turner:
  • Following the growing support and success of the campaign, the UNEP, engaged in this initiative through their ‘Tide Turner Challenge Programme’.
  • UNEP decided to join hands with the NCC. 
• Time period: 
  • The MoU, to remain in force for a period of three years, aims at consolidating, developing and detailing their cooperation and effectiveness to achieve the common objectives in the field of environment.

Significance

• Behavioural changes among people due to the awareness drives.
• Participation of youth will make it a movement.
• Realisation of responsibility towards mother Earth will be achieved.
• It is an important step for reducing pollution caused due to littered plastic waste in the country.
• Such initiatives will weaken the circular economy of plastic packaging waste, promote the development of new alternatives to plastics and provide further next steps for moving towards sustainable plastic packaging by businesses. 

Plastic

• Plastic is a synthetic organic polymer made from petroleum with properties ideally suited for a wide variety of applications, including packaging, building and construction, household and sports equipment, vehicles, electronics and agriculture.
• Plastic is cheap, lightweight, strong and malleable. Over 300 million tons of plastic are produced every year.
• Sources of Plastic: 
  • The main sources of marine plastic are land-based, from urban and storm runoff, sewer overflows, beach visitors, inadequate waste disposal and management, industrial activities, construction and illegal dumping.
  • Ocean-based plastic originates mainly from the fishing industry, nautical activities and aquaculture.
  • Under the influence of solar UV radiation, wind, currents and other natural factors, plastic fragments into small particles, termed microplastics (particles smaller than 5 mm) or nanoplastics (particles smaller than 100 nm).

Issues / Challenges with Plastic

• Environmental
  • It is harmful to the environment as it is non-biodegradable and takes years to disintegrate.
  • Marine wildlife such as seabirds, whales, fishes and turtles eat plastic waste and most die of starvation as their stomachs are filled with plastic debris.

• Food and health:
  • Invisible plastic has been identified in tap water, beer, salt and are present in all samples collected in the world’s oceans, including the Arctic.
  • The transfer of contaminants between marine species and humans through the consumption of seafood has been identified as a health hazard.
    • Fish consume thousands of tons of plastic in a year, ultimately transferring it up the food chain to marine mammals.

• Climate change:
  • Plastic, which is a petroleum product, also contributes to global warming. If plastic waste is incinerated, it releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, thereby increasing carbon emissions.

• Tourism:
  • Plastic waste damages the aesthetic value of tourist destinations, leading to decreased tourism-related incomes and major economic costs related to the cleaning and maintenance of the sites.
• Financial costs of marine plastic pollution: 
  • According to conservative forecasts made in March 2020, the direct harm to the blue economy of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations will be $2.1 billion per year.

India’s Efforts in Tackling Plastic Waste

• The Plastic Waste Management Rules, 2016: 
  • It clearly stipulates that urban local bodies (ULBs) should ban less than 50 micron thick plastic bags and not allow the usage of recycled plastics for packing food, beverage or any other eatables.
  • It introduced the concept of EPR (Extended Producer Responsibility) to manage plastics in India.
• Plastic Waste Management (Amendment) Rules, 2022: 
  • The guidelines on EPR (Extended Producer Responsibility) coupled with the prohibition of identified single-use plastic items.
  • It banned the manufacture, import, stocking, distribution, sale and use of carry bags made of virgin or recycled plastic less than seventy-five microns. 
  • The items that will be banned are—Earbuds with plastic sticks, plastic sticks for balloons, plastic flags, candy sticks, ice-cream sticks, polystyrene (thermocol) for decoration, plastic plates, cups, glasses, cutlery such as forks, spoons and knives, straw, trays, wrapping films around sweet boxes, invitation cards, and cigarette packets, plastic or PVC banners less than 100-microns and stirrers.
  • The Central Pollution Control Board, along with state pollution bodies, will monitor the ban, identify violations, and impose penalties already prescribed under the Environmental Protection Act.
• Swachh Bharat Mission – Urban 2.0:
  • Segregation and sorting: 
    • Under this, every Urban Local Bodies (ULB) is required to adopt 100% source segregation of waste, and have access to a Material Recovery Facility (MRF) for sorting the dry waste (including plastic waste) into further fractions for recycling and/ or processing into value-added products. 
    • This is aimed to reduce plastic and dry waste ending up in dumpsites or waterbodies.
  • Alternatives: 
    • The ULBs will need to identify SUP alternatives (such as cloth/jute/plastic bags, degradable cutleries, etc.) readily available in the market and create awareness about such alternatives among citizens.
  • Reuse:
    • States and ULBs have also been advised to enter into MoUs with nearby cement plants or other industrial units as well to ensure that a part of the plastic waste generated is used either as an alternative fuel in cement plants or for road construction purposes. 
• India is a signatory to MARPOL (International Convention on Prevention of Marine Pollution).
• The “India Plastic Challenge – Hackathon 2021 
  • It is a unique competition calling upon start-ups /entrepreneurs and students of   Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) to develop innovative solutions to mitigate plastic pollution and develop alternatives to single-use plastics.
• Others:
  • India Plastics Pact
  • Project REPLAN
  • Un-Plastic Collective
  • GoLitter Partnerships Project

Way Ahead

• 1.5 million NCC cadets have the ability to influence the thinking of youth across the world, exuding confidence that they will be instrumental in making the campaign a mass movement.
• It is our collective responsibility to protect the environment for future generations to live a long and healthy life.

Source: TH