NEW DELHI: In a bid to cut down on the use single-use plastic (SUP) — an environmental hazard — the government will conduct a weekly fair to promote alternatives to it’s use, starting June 1, said Environment minister Gopal Rai on Wednesday. The move has come, as the ban on use of SUP items will come into force from July 1. The fair will help shopeekpers connect to manufacturers, who are making these alternatives.
Rai during a press briefing said that the government will also “incentivise” units engaged in the production of alternatives to SUP items under the newly-launched ‘Start-up Policy’ in the city. The government had announced the policy during its annual budget for the current year, which aims to promote entrepreneurship in the national capital.
“We have asked the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) to prepare a list of shops selling SUP items so that they can be linked with units manufacturing their alternatives such as cloth bags, jute bags and paper/clay-made items, among others” said the minister.
He further said that since SUP items are being used at a large scale, it is important to make alternatives available to people before the ban comes into force for which a meeting was held with departments concerned on Wednesday.
Start-ups and self-help groups manufacturing alternatives to SUP items showcased their products at 17 stalls at the Delhi Secretariat. The union environment ministry had last year issued a notification prohibiting the manufacture, import, stocking, distribution, sale and use of identified single-use plastic commodities from July 1, 2022. The Delhi Pollution Control Committee has also asked all manufacturers of raw materials to stop supplying plastic items to those engaged in use of banned SUP products.