June 5 is World Environment Day. This year, the theme is “Beat Plastic Pollution”.
It is a time for us to think of how we can make changes in our lives to reduce the use of plastic. Our motto to achieve this must be “If you can’t reuse it, refuse it”.
Showing the way
Let’s take a look at what Sikkim has achieved. A small state in northeast India, it is bordered by Bhutan, Tibet and Nepal. A part of the Himalayas, the landscape is spellbinding. It is home to the mighty Kangchenjunga, glaciers, alpine meadows and thousands of varieties of wild flowers. The people of Sikkim live in this tough mountainous terrain and face several hardships because of this. However, this has not stopped them from leading the way towards a greener environment.
In 1998, the state banned disposable plastic bags, becoming the first in the country to do so. It went on to also ban single-use plastic bottles. In 2016, they banned the use of packaged drinking water in government offices and government events and the use of styrofoam and thermocol disposable plates and cutlery in the entire state to cut down toxic plastic pollution and tackle its ever-increasing garbage problem.
With awareness campaigns and stiff penalties the ban has been successful. Residents now opt for plates made of paper, leaf, bagasse (dry pulpy residue left after the extraction of juice from sugar cane) and even areca nut. But, tourists throw up a challenge.
Sikkim has other firsts to its name. It is the first state to be fully organic, which means all the food produced in Sikkim would soon be free of pesticides. It is the first state to ban open defecation. Urinating in public will attract a fine of ₹500. The government has made it mandatory to have a sanitary toilet at home to be eligible for any benefits from the government or to contest in village-level elections. This has resulted in the success of the programme, thought of years before the Swachchh Bharat Campaign (Clean India Campaign) was even conceptualised. The state has even banned firecrackers in 2014 to contain noise and air pollution.
All this came about because in the 1990s, there was a flood and the plastic bags that washed up clogged drains resulting in a huge landslide causing death and loss of property.
This tiny state is well on its way to becoming free of the scourge of plastic pollution.
Compiled by NIMI KURIAN
