New Delhi: Environment Minister Gopal Rai chaired a conference with new start-ups and self-help groups working on single-use plastic alternatives and concerned officials at the Delhi Secretariat on May 25, 2022. During this meeting, members addressed how to encourage individuals to work on single-use plastic alternatives. Several projects were discussed to promote more alternatives to single-use plastic among the general public. Gopal Rai announced that the government is bringing a new Green Startup Policy to promote single-use plastic alternatives.
Gopal Rai, while addressing the conference said, “Single-use plastic contributes significantly to pollution. The Environment Department under the leadership of CM Arvind Kejriwal is taking all the necessary steps to combat pollution. Moving on in this approach, the Delhi Government will begin banning all single-use plastic goods in all Delhi Secretariat offices starting on June 1.
He further informed that the government will hold a week-long fair in June where all of these start-ups and self-help groups can display single-use plastics alternatives they have created. In addition, the government will introduce a new green startup policy for those involved in the manufacturing of single-use plastics at this fair, allowing them to enter the market of single-use plastic alternatives and will provide financial aid to them.
As gathered, members of new start-ups and self-help groups working on different alternatives to single-use plastic were present here. Moreover, officials from the Environment Department, NDMC, DPCC, MCD, Cantonment Board, and others were present to discuss environment-related topics. Ecoware Solutions, IPCA, Bio Track, For Earth Sake, Vandana SHG, Economic Development SHG, and others were among the 17 start-ups and self-help groups that attended the meeting.
Gopal Rai said, “To completely ban single-use plastic in Delhi, orders have also been issued to MCD to make a list of shops involved in the sale of single-use plastic. In future, a further work project will be prepared by linking them with start-ups working on other alternatives to single-use plastics.”
He appealed to all the citizens of Delhi to join hands with the government to encourage and promote start-ups/entrepreneurs in producing other single-use plastic alternatives and to make Delhi a plastic-free city for citizens.
Following the meeting, Gopal Rai visited the stalls set up by new start-ups and self-help groups working on single-use plastic alternatives. In this exhibition, single-use plastic alternatives like pottery, cloth, bags made of paper and jute, and crockery made of biodegradable items were displayed. In addition, things made from recycled plastic such as trays, vases, stands, photo frames, compostable products, compostable food packaging materials, and home decor items were also included in this exhibition.
