Himachal govt to buy back single-use plastic at ₹75 per kg from today
SHIMLA : Himachal Pradesh government will buy back non-recyclable and single-use plastic waste at a minimum support price (MSP) of ₹75 per kg from Wednesday.
A notification in this regard was issued by additional chief secretary, environment, science and technology, RD Dhiman on Tuesday. The state government is in process of setting up collection centres in urban local bodies (ULB) and panchayats to buyback the plastic waste from ragpickers and individuals collecting waste from households.
“Individuals depositing singleuse plastic at the collection centres will also get minimum support price of ₹75 per kg, other than rag pickers,” the notification read.
The MSP will be applicable only for non-recyclable and single-use plastic waste generated through packaging of items such as chips, milk, oil pouches, toffees, biscuits, chocolates, confectionary items, readymade clothes besides one-time use bags.
The notification made it clear that the state government will not pay for recyclable plastic waste such as PET bottles, plastic furniture and containers.
The payment will be disbursed through 14 ULBs —Mandi, Kullu, Dharamshala, Jogindernagar, Nurpur, Chamba, Hamirpur, Bilaspur, Una, Solan,Nahan, Nirmand, Theog and Rohru —which have been notified by the urban development department in this regard. The urban body in Dharamshala will also cover areas in Kangra, Nagrota, Palampur and Dehra, while Daulatpur, Gagret, Mehatpur, Santokhgarh and Tahliwal will come under Una urban body.
The plastic waste collected at ULB centres will be sold to public work department (PWD) for construction of roads by mixing it with bitumen, in waste-to-energy plant and in cement factory as fuel.
The cost of transportation of the waste would be borne by the ULB, as per their area of jurisdiction. Further, the state government has asked the ULBs to create a network of ragpickers for collection of plastic waste in an organised manner. “All the ULBs will open a manned counter for receipt of the waste besides proper provision of storage,” Dhiman said.
60-65 MT PLASTIC WASTE GENERATED EVERY YEAR: GOVERNMENT
According to state government’s estimate, about 60-65 million tonne (MT) of plastic waste is generated across the state every year.
Of total waste generated, only 0.5% is disposed off safely and rest is found dumped in open spaces mixed with municipal solid waste.
The state government had imposed a ban on plastic carry bags of all sizes, plastic and thermocol items made for one-time use and those made of non-biodegradable material. However, this accounts for only about 30-35% of total plastic used across the state and the remaining 65-70% is being generated from packaging, which still remains a huge challenge.