THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Every year World Environment Day sees crores of plant saplings being distributed and planted across Kerala.
But along with the countless saplings that get planted, there is a consistent increase in the amount of plastic waste. Plastic covers which get discarded after the planting of the saplings continue to pile up, negating one of the very ideals the day is all about.
So picture this. How about just tucking in the sapling in the earth, no plastic covers to discard. All one needs to do is slide the sapling into the freshly dug pit and never worry about the plastic cover that the sapling is packaged in. Handicrops, a firm composed of differently abled individuals has crafted just the need of the hour.
They have fashioned out cloth bags which can be used to not just grow the saplings but these can be placed as such to the earth. And they just merge and disintegrate into the earth, becoming one with it.
"Every year we celebrate the day by planting crores of saplings. Imagine the amount of trash we are generating. This is our effort to counter the rising plastic waste," says Handicrops chairperson Lekha S Kumar. The idea stemmed from the collective when they decided to address the issue. “When we are trying to celebrate the environment, why not do it in a nature friendly manner. Using the cloth bags, these plastic bags can be replaced,” she adds.
At present two units of the Handicrops are involved in making these cloth bags. The 5x3 inch compact bags are pegged at Rs 4 each. For trees that grow quickly, all one needs to do is tear off the bottom part of the cloth cover. Ever since the team began to craft such bags, there has been a huge demand. “The demand is mostly from nurseries which are committed to the environment. They have started using these cloth bags and the feedback has been great. We hope to approach the government so that this can be implemented from next year,” she says.
There is also a huge demand for grow bags made from cloth. The cloth material used for this is different. For grow bags we use sturdy and thick cotton while soft, pure cotton is being used to make the bags for saplings, Lekha adds. If made on a larger scale, this environment-friendly alternative can counter the waste that piles up. Lekha feels the Forest Department should adopt this without any delay.