Swachh Bharat is completing 10 years on 2nd October. Narendra Modi After becoming the Prime Minister for the first time in 2014, he started this campaign on 2 October i.e. Gandhi Jayanti. While on one hand the Modi government is celebrating the completion of 10 years of this mission, on the other hand people believe that they are in favor of more action against the continuous use of plastic in all packaging products including snacks, biscuits. Actually, common citizens throw away the wrappers of chips, biscuits, snacks and namkeen here and there after using them, due to which the drains get clogged. Not only this, it is also difficult to recycle them. In such a situation, pollution is continuously increasing.
The Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change had also notified the Management Amendment Rules regarding plastic waste on 12 August 2021. In this, there was a ban on the use of plastic in carry bags, plastic sticks, packaging-wrapping films, cutlery items, PVC banners, plastic flags, plastic sheets and pan masala packets. However, it comes under the state government and State Pollution Control Board, hence it could not be fully implemented.
Amidst all this, LocalCircles has conducted a survey across the country. 22000 people from 305 districts of the country participated in this survey. Of these, 68 percent were men and the rest were women. Among the people who participated in this survey, 46 percent were from Tier-1, 33 percent from Tier-2 and 21 percent from Tier-3 and Tier-4 districts.
The first question asked in the survey was, which food packaging wrappers do people generally see on roads and footpaths? 11,470 people answered this question. Some of these said more than one thing.
– 86% people said that they see wrappers of chips, namkeen, candy and biscuits on the road and footpath.
– Other 86% people mentioned plastic bottles of water, cold drinks and juice.
– 77% people said that poly packs of various drinks were seen.
– 68% people said that they see wrappers of gutkha-pan masala and cigarette boxes on the roads and footpaths.
– Whereas 45% said that packets of dairy products (milk, curd, etc.) were visible.
– 14% mentioned other products.
– Whereas there were only 14% people who said that where they live, they do not see anything like this on the roads.
– This survey makes it clear that most Indians commonly see plastic bottles of chips, snacks, candies, biscuits and water-cold drinks on the roads and footpaths.
How should be the packaging of food products?
8 out of 10 Indians surveyed say that the government should make it mandatory for all packaged food products to have packaging that can be recycled.
People were further asked in the survey, “Should India make it mandatory for all food items to have recyclable, biodegradable or reusable packaging by 2025? 19,890 people answered this question. 80 percent of these people said yes.
However, 12% of respondents said that the 2025 deadline is not practical. Whereas 4% people felt bad about this idea. That is, it is clear in the survey that 8 out of 10 Indians want the government to make its packaging recyclable, biodegradable or reusable mandatory for all food items.
This survey has been done by LocalCircles…
