A workshop on 'Plastic Waste Management in Uttarakhand: Single Use Plastic Ban & Extended Producer Responsibility - Road Map & Way Forward' took place on February 17th 2023, at the Uttarakhand Pollution Control Board's head office in Dehradun. SDC Foundation served as the knowledge partner for the board.
The valedictory session had Uttarakhand Chief Minister Mr. Pushkar Singh Dhami as the Chief Guest. He congratulated UKPCB on organizing such a workshop and was optimistic that the manthan (dialogue) in the workshop will bring out amrit (nectar), which will benefit not only the environment but also the industry and business community in Uttarakhand. He virtually inaugurated the boiler plant at Bahl Paper Mills Ltd in Kashipur, which has the capacity to use 100 tonnes of plastic to generate 2.5 Mz of power.
The opening session was inaugurated by Minister of Forest, Language & Technical Education, Mr. Subodh Uniyal. He emphasized the importance of a balance between ecology and economy. Uttarakhand Forest and Environment Department Principal Secretary R.K. Sudhanshu encouraged those present to do their bit in the fight against plastic waste generation. Member Secretary Sushanta Pattnaik also shared with those present that in the past three months, 216 PIBOs and 56 PWPs had registered on the EPR website.
During the first technical session, Jitendra Verma, SDM Ukhimath, detailed the success of QR codes on the Kedarnath route: 60,000 out of one lakh plastic bottles of water sold had already been returned. Following this, Nishant Verma, Director of Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve, presented the amount of non-biodegradable waste collected from the Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve region.
The second technical session, focused on Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), and was conducted by Dr. Divya Sinha, EPR Expert from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). She guided the audience from the business community through the process of how Producer, Importers, and Brand Owners (PIBOs) and Plastic Waste Processors (PWPs) can generate any of the 12 EPR certificates online.
The event saw the participation of 40 industrial association members, representatives from eight Urban Local Bodies, and over 1,000 people who were watching the program online.
Read our detailed Program Report for more information.
