The Uttarakhand Forest Department, Uttarakhand Environment Protection & Pollution Control Board (UEPPCB) and SDC Foundation jointly organized a brand audit, in celebration of the forthcoming World Environment Day in Uttarakhand. The theme for this year’s WED is #BeatPlasticPollution, and India is the host country for the same.
The audit took place around Company Garden, a popular tourist spot in the hill town of Mussoorie, and was a part of a larger initiative known as the Himalayan Clean-Up. The Himalayan Clean-Up is a drive organized across the 10 mountain states of India, on a single day, with an aim to bring the issue of plastic waste to the forefront, and also to understand what our waste comprises. It focuses on the concept of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), which places the onus on manufacturers to take responsibility for the plastic generated during the entire lifecycle of the product. This is also an important element of the Plastic Waste Management Rule 2016.
The brand audit conducted by SDC revealed some interesting findings. More than 50% of the trash along the tourist centric hillside was plastic. Multilayer plastic from brands such as PepsiCo, Lay’s, Nestlé, MAGGI, ParleAgro’s Frooti and Appy Tetrapacks made up the top three majority of the plastic waste. Other brands included Vadilal and Amul ice creams wrappers, Britannia and Parle-G biscuit packs, and Haldiram's.
Gutkha (chewing tobacco) also contributed significantly to the sample size, with a brand called Dilbag seen everywhere. Sanitary waste such as used diapers, pads and cotton were present too. The need for proper disposal of biomedical waste was noted since there was a considerable amount of used and half-used blister packs of pills, syrups, and medicines as well. It was interesting to see that plastic bottles were relatively a smaller fraction of the waste. That is not because bottled water is not consumed, but because waste pickers pick them up to be sold and recycled.
