International Plastic Bag Free Day: Delhi youth elated after ban on single-use plastic

Single-use plastic has been banned in the country since July 1. And city-based eco warriors hail the move to reduce plastic pollution. Some are planning awareness campaigns on social media whereas some others have organised physical drives to collect discarded plastic bags.

The decision to ban single-use plastic, across the country (from July 1) comes with a sense of optimism that we are headed towards a more eco-friendly future. Much like the rest of the country, the Capital has struggled with its own battle against plastic waste. On International Plastic Bag Free Day (July 3), we speak to some city-based crusaders who have been working for years to curb the environmental nuisance that is single-use plastic bags.

International Plastic Bag Free Day is celebrated to create awareness around the need to bring in eco-friendly alternatives and curb plastic pollution. (Photo: Shutterstock)

Raising awareness around the same is PRANAHI, the eco club at Bhaskaracharya College of Applied Sciences (BCAS), Delhi University. Kuntak Saha, a first-year student of Microbiology at BCAS, says, “The decision to ban single-use plastic is more than welcome. We’ve been involved extensively in trying to create awareness around the alternatives to plastic bags. We realised that the reason most people prefer plastic bags is for its convenience and cheap cost, but their convenience is proving detrimental to our eco system. Thus we have organised street plays to demonstrate how favourable it is to use bags made of environment friendly materials such as cloth, jute and paper. We have also been conducting drives where we visit nearby lakes and encourage people to join us in segregating the plastic bags from other waste.”

(Students from BCAS’ eco club help segregate waste near lakes.)

“I’ve seen the efforts these students have put in their attempts to limit plastic waste,” says Gunjan Sirohi, assistant professor, department of Microbiology at BCAS, and in-charge of the club. She adds, “Many students have joined in as members, and are inclined to eradicate the usage of plastic bags around the city. We even conducted a survey on our campus, to help initiate the ban on single-use plastic. Like the young students, public in general can also take the initiative and carry their your own, cloth or jute bags with they go for shopping. As responsible citizens of the city, we should not use plastic bags.”

The day has been marked in the calendar of some students, to take a call of action for the sake of environment. “We are so happy with the recent plastic ban because it helps in tremendously boosting our future efforts, starting today,” says Anjali Gupta, a final year student of BA (Prog) and president of Hindu College’s National Service Scheme (NSS) is one among such students who is looking forward to celebrate the day. She adds, “We at NSS are very keen to utilise this day as an opportunity to create awareness around the damaging affects of single-use plastic. We have planned campaigns, and have been posting awareness pamphlets around the campus. In the past, we have had campaigns surrounding the benefits of using jute bags as well, since we feel that jute is one of the best alternatives to plastic bags, given its durability and low cost.”

Author tweets @karansethi042

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