Workshop on “Plastic waste management in Uttarakhand: Single Use Plastic Ban and Extended Producer Responsibility – Road Map and Way forward” held at Dehradun on 17 Feb, 22
ANOOP NAUTIYAL
A workshop on “Plastic waste management in Uttarakhand: Single Use Plastic Ban and Extended Producer Responsibility – Road Map and Way forward” was held on February 17, 2023 at the head office of Uttarakhand Pollution Control Board, Dehradun.
The valedictory session had Hon’ble Chief Minister Mr. Pushkar Singh Dhami as the Chief Guest. He congratulated UKPCB on organizing such a workshop and was optimistic that the manthan in the workshop will bring out nectar, amrit, which will benefit not only the environment but also the industry and business community in Uttarakhand. Citing Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi;s Mission Life, he also emphasized the contribution of each one’s commitment to the environment and asked everyone present to ensure DevBhoomi maintains its purity.
Chief Minister Mr. Pushkar Singh Dhami inaugurated the boiler plant at Bahl Paper Mills Ltd in Kashipur, in virtual mode. The plant has the capacity to use 100 tonnes of plastic to generate 2.5 Mz of power. He expressed delight at the waste to wealth and waste to energy project. He appreciated the efforts of the Pollution Control Board and asked that similar workshops be held across other locations like Haridwar, Udham Singh Nagar, Haldwani and Kotdwar in the state.
The opening session was inaugurated by Hon’ble Minister of Forest, Language, and Technical Education Mr Subodh Uniyal. emphasized the importance of a balance between ecology and economy. He also shared from his experience that for any ecological movement to be successful, community involvement is crucial and asked the officials present to establish linkages with the members of thousands of Van Panchayts in Uttarakhand.
Uttarakhand Forest and Environment Depratment Principal Secretary R.K. Sudhanshu encouraged those present to do their bit in the fight against plastic waste generation. Member Secretary Sushanta Pattnaik also shared with those present that in the past three months, 216 PIBOs and 56 PWPs had registered on the EPR website.
The workshop was attended by Secretary Forest Govt of Uttarakhand Mr Vijay Yadav; PCCF (HOFF) Mr Vinod Kumar; Director State Environmental Protection and Climate Change Mr S P Subudhi; Member Secretary Uttarakhand Pollution Control Board Mr Sushanta Pattnaik, and representatives of the industry and business community. The vote of thanks was made by Member Secy, UKPCB.
The first technical session had SDM Ukhimath Mr Jitendra Verma explain the success story of QR codes on the Kedarnath route: Out of one lakh plastic bottles of water sold, 60,000 have been returned already. Next, Director Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve, Mr Nishant Verma gave a presentation on how much non-biodegradable waste has been collected from the Nanda Devi Biospehere Reserve region and was made possible by participation from all stakeholders.
The second technical session on EPR was by Dr Divya Sinha, EPR Expert CPCB, and she took the audience from the business community through the process of how producer, importers and brand owners (PIBOs) and plastic waste processors (PWPs) can generate any of the 12 EPR certificates, online. 40 industrial association members, representatives of eight urban local bodies were present in large numbers. Over 1,000 people watched the program online.
