VIJAYAWADA: Vijayawada Municipal Commissioner Swapnil Dinakar Pundkar said that the city roads and the sanitation works in the city are much better compared to Paris. Sharing the details of the conference held in Paris on the International Forum to End Plastic Pollution in cities organised by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEF) on Friday, the civic body chief stated that the main objective of the forum is to strengthen the process of managing plastic waste and ending pollution in the cities across the country, in collaboration with the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs.
Swapnil informed that Vijayawada was among the three cities from across the country that were represented in this conference. He said, “On behalf of Vijayawada Municipal Corporation, I participated in the international conference, and explained the single use plastic policy being implemented in the state.
According to him, he elaborated to the gathering in Paris that the Vijayawada administration has focused on a sustainable and integrated approach to curb plastic pollution and has taken necessary measures to raise awareness among the people regarding prevention of single use of plastic in the city and its surrounding areas.
He stated that the forum proposed to set up a national digital platform to monitor the recycling and reuse of plastic waste in cities and states and follow national-level guidelines for plastic waste management. There was a discussion about recycling plastic so that its use can be reduced to a large extent.
“The use of plastic can be curbed through the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR ) system. There should be a national-level portal for this,” the civic body chief added. He stated that he examined the urban development in Paris.
“The ideas shared through the conference will be implemented in the city. The citizens should cooperate with VMC and hand over waste to the sanitation staff instead of indiscriminately dumping in the open,” he said.