ఇలాచేస్తే.. ప్లాస్టిక్‌ నిర్మూలన సాధ్యమే

- People should act responsibly

- Garbage should be provided to sanitation workers who come to their homes

- Results only if plastic manufacturing, sales and consumption are appropriate

- Garbage should not be seen on the roads by January 26. Our main goal is to make plastic free AP. We should make vermicompost at home and create wealth from plastic and other waste.

- This is the statement made by Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu recently.

Palasa, December 24 (Andhra Jyoti): Is it possible to eliminate plastic? Experts say it is possible. They are of the opinion that plastic can be completely stopped if wasteful manufacturing, sales and consumption are reduced. The garbage collected daily from Srikakulam Municipal Corporation with Palasa, Ichchapuram and Amadalavalasa municipalities in the district is up to 200 tonnes. There is up to 20 tons of plastic in it, so it can be understood how they are used. Through the Swarnandhra-Swachchandhra programs, officers and staff organize rallies on the third Saturday of every month and also organize public awareness programs to explain the dangers of plastic. These are giving good results in many places. But, in some areas, there is concern that some people are acting as if there is no plastic.

Will the goal be achieved?

The government's goal is that no garbage should be seen on the roads by January 26, 2026. But, the response from the public seems to be minimal. There is no solution for the garbage accumulating in the municipalities. Garbage has to be moved through alternative routes. In fact, many times in the past, officials have announced that they want to create wealth from garbage, but it is not materializing. Authorities are holding their heads as garbage piles up on the roads as wealth is created. After attempts to create wealth from garbage in Uttarandhra district failed, the state government entered into an agreement with the Jindal Company at Visakhapatnam. The company is successfully conducting a program of separating waste from garbage and using it to generate electricity. With this, many municipalities are coming forward to give garbage generously. In this, Palasa-Kashibugga Municipality is in the forefront. A machine to separate plastic waste from garbage has been set up at the Manogipuram dumping yard. A few tons of garbage have already been removed by this machine and the waste required by Jindal Company has been moved. Municipalities and large panchayats are already collecting garbage from house to house. Apart from the government, the government also wants to create wealth from plastic and other waste by making vermicompost at home. This program is being successfully conducted in some towns and villages across the state. By January next year, the government is planning to set up such facilities in every home in the state and make them free from garbage. At present, new garbage disposal centers have been established in the municipalities. It focuses on separating wet-dry waste, separating plastic waste and selling it to generate income. In some towns Dwakra has entrusted the management responsibilities to the communities. The government is running programs such as providing necessary materials to people's homes if they provide plastic waste to mobile shops. No matter how many efforts are made, the mindset of the people has to change. If they are provided to the sanitation workers who come home instead of littering the canals and roads, there is a possibility of doing a lot of good.

Garbage collected daily, plastic (in tonnes)

Municipal Garbage Plastic

Palasa-Kashibugga 30 10

Ichchapuram 18 4

Amadalavalasa 15 3

Srikakulam Corporation 100 35

Striving for a plastic free society

We are taking steps to make it a garbage free municipality. We are already conducting a program to remove garbage from roads and canals. We have appointed a special staff for garbage collection from house to house. We have appointed secretariat sanitation staff as supervisors. We are appealing to people to voluntarily donate garbage to door-to-door garbage trucks. We are taking measures to stop the sale and use of plastic. We will work towards a plastic-free society in line with the government's ambitions.

E. Srinivasulu, Commissioner, Palasa-Kashibugga