DEL/285/2019/ALLM/43                       3rd October 2019

To All Members

Dear Colleagues,

Sub: Swachhta- Hi - Seva-2019 - Theme: Plastic Waste Management

As you know our Honorable Prime Minister made a call to the nation during his Independence Day speech on 15th August 2019, to work towards ridding our country from plastic waste. Hence, the theme of this year’s Swachhta Hi Seva (SHS) is Plastic Waste Management. The Swachhta Hi Seva commenced on 11th September, and mass awareness generation activities for plastic waste management were carried out across the country till `1st October. On 2nd October, Swachh Bharat Diwas, a special national shramdaan for plastic waste collection was organized in all villages and towns across the country. From 3rd October till 27th October (Diwali), the collected plastic waste will then be effectively recycled and disposed.

2.        Government of India has decided that in 2019-20, the Swachhta hi Seva Campaign will focus on Plastic Waste Management as the main theme.

3.        Ministry of Tourism has desired to create awareness and cleanliness related activities with the theme of Plastic Waste Management during Swachhta Hi Seva 2019 campaign covering iconic places, beaches, hill areas and ensure maximum participation through our members during the SHS 2019 period and submit the report along with the photographs.

4.       Members are requested to give this a wide publicity and create awareness amongst all their employees, guides, drivers to avoid using single use plastic by putting up banners, notice in the office, coaches etc. Please create awareness amongst all your employees by giving them a brief on Single Use Plastic. A brief is given below this circular.

5.       Photograph of such activities, banners, notice placed in your office, vehicles etc., may please be sent to IATO office for onward submission of the same with the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India by 25th October 2019.

With best regards,

Rajesh Mudgill

Hony. Secretary

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Brief on Single Use Plastic

Single-use plastics, or disposable plastics which are used only once before they are thrown away or recycled. These items are things like plastic bags, straws, coffee stirrers, soda and water bottles and most food packaging.  We produce roughly 300 million tons of plastic each year and half of it is disposable! World-wide only 10-13% of plastic items are recycled. The nature of petroleum based disposable plastic makes it difficult to recycle and they have to add new virgin materials and chemicals to it to do so. Additionally, there are a limited number of items that recycled plastic can be used. Petroleum based plastic is not biodegradable and usually goes into a landfill where it is buried or it gets into the water and finds it’s way into the ocean. Although plastic will not biodegrade (decompose into natural substance like soil,) it will degrade (break down) into tiny particles after many years. In the process of breaking down, it releases toxic chemicals (additives that were used to shape and harden the plastic) which make their way into our food and water supply. These toxic chemicals are now being found in our bloodstream and the latest research has found them to disrupt the Endocrine system which can cause cancer, infertility, birth defects, impaired immunity and many other ailments.  We produce hundreds of millions of tons of plastic every year, most of which cannot be recycled. It’s obvious that we need to use less plastic, move towards environmentally sustainable products and services and come up with technology that recycles plastic more efficiently.

If current consumption patterns and waste management practices do not improve, by 2050 there will be about 12 billion tons of plastic litter in land flls and the natural environment warns this new UN report released on June 5, World Environment Day 2018. It also provides a road map to reduce single-use plastics. A new report from UN Environment finds a surging momentum in global efforts to address plastic pollution. The first-of-its-kind accounting finds governments are increasing the pace of implementation and the scope of action to curb the use of single-use plastics. In what is framed as the first comprehensive review of ‘state of plastics’, UN Environment has assembled experiences and assessments of the various measures and regulations to beat plastic pollution in a report: “Single-use Plastics: A roadmap for Sustainability.”

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