Environment dept calls for ban on use of plastic bags, bottles

Kolkata: Arnab Roy, principal secretary of the Environment department, has sought cooperation from all corners to impose ban on the use of plastic bags and bottles.

He was addressing a conference on Sustainable Waste Management, organised by CII in association with the department of Environment on Tuesday morning.

"In order to arrest use of plastic bags, which constitute 50 percent of the plastic wastes, we need cooperation from all," Roy said, adding that the state government is extremely serious about converting wastes into wealth and a source of job generation.

"The state government is also keen that all stakeholders – the government, industry and private citizens – come together to evolve a robust waste management mechanism," he said.

According to him, challenges of solid wastes are no longer limited to urban areas. "The rural Panchayat areas are also becoming relevant in the scheme of things," he said.

"Make value out of waste, increase efficiency of collection, recycling and processing and make public-private handshakes happen. The situation is win-win for all and the economy will also get a boost," Roy summed up.

Kalyan Rudra, chairman, West Bengal Pollution Control Board (WBPCB), said that in view of the scarcity of land for dumping, the state government has taken up a cluster approach in solid waste management.

The state government has identified common land for dumping wastes in six municipalities. They are Dum Dum, South Dum Dum, North Dum Dum, Kamarhati, Baranagore and Barrackpore.

Subrata Mondol, chief general manager, National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD), spoke of the business opportunities that farm wastes can create.

He also said NABARD is playing a major role in funding organic farming carried out in a judicious and environment-friendly manner.

Chitranjan Dar, chairman, Sustainability sub-committee, & Group Head - CPO, LSTC, EHS and Quality Assurance, ITC Ltd, said waste is an area which has the potential of producing the next band of millionaires and generating numerous jobs.

Dipankar Chakrabarti, co-chairman, CII ER Innovation Taskforce & Executive Director, Advisory Risk Management Leader, PwC India, said, to overcome the huge burden of wastes, it's extremely important to significantly reduce waste generation, maximise reuse/recycling and further utilisation of the same as alternate raw material/fuel; thus reducing the burden of land-filling.