India's first plastic-free market project launched

Kolkata: India's first pilot project on plastic-free market was inaugurated by WBHIDCO and NKDA in New Town on Tuesday. The pilot project, covering 2313 families, will be initially implemented in CB, CA, CB, CC, CD Blocks and Sankalpa 3 and 4. It will be able to reduce usage of 168 kg of plastic per month.

A social enterprise — Kolkata Society for Cultural Heritage (KSCH) — has been roped in to implement the two-year-long project initially at CB Block. KSCH will distribute two cloth bags initially to all families and biodegradable plastic packets derived from vegetable starch. Degradable plastic carry bags (made from vegetable starch) will be used by the residents to shop non-vegetarian items. KSCH will also distribute paper bags for carrying grocery items and clay pots for sweets.

Earlier, a team of the NKDA officials had visited Central Institute of Petrochemicals Engineering and Technology (CIPET) in Haldia to explore the alternatives for plastic.

Though the alternatives are costlier than plastic, the additional cost will be borne by the NKDA as subsidy under its Smart City Project.

Door-to-door awareness campaigns and monitoring of the market will be conducted to check plastic use.

The pilot project was inaugurated by Debashis Sen, Chairman of HIDCO and NKDA and Animesh Bhattacharya, CEO, NKDA in presence of Sourav Mukherjee, president of KSCH.