In an effort to make the state litter-free, the Himachal Pradesh (HP) cabinet on Tuesday approved a draft policy to buyback non-recyclable plastic waste, an official spokesperson said.

The cabinet gave its approval to the policy at a meeting held under the chairmanship of CM Jai Ram Thakur on Monday.

The draft policy will be implemented soon, whereby plastic would be purchased at a minimum support price of Rs 75 kg by urban local bodies in the state, additional chief secretary (Environment Sciences) & Himachal Pradesh State Pollution Control Board (HPSPCB) chairman RD Dhiman said.

Purchasing centres in all 54 ULBs of the state would soon be opened, he added.

"Plastic has already been banned in the state but it can still be seen scattered in various parts as tourists keep on throwing it here & there & it is still being used in packaging. So the decision of purchasing the plastic has been taken."(HPSPCB) chairman RD Dhiman told.

The purchased plastic would be sold to the PWD for the construction of roads by mixing it with bitumen & to cement companies as fuel, he added.

Himachal had banned the use of polythene bags 10 years ago on Oct 2, 2009.

Source Link

 

Picture Source :