Page 52 - Plastics News June 2021

in the news

Plastics Halkathon 2021 launched Yamuna to get bubble curtain to

stop plastic from entering
nion Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar
Ulaunched Plastics Halkathon 2021 an awareness
program on plastic waste management and reducing amuna is to get bubble curtain to stop plastic from
Single-Use plastic. The minister said the government has Yentering the river The Mantola canal has been
notified plastic waste management rules under which selected for this unique project as it carries 40% of
plastic below 40 microns thickness cannot be used and has Agra city’s wastewater. Moreover, the plastic leakage
also directed states to take action against firms producing into the canal is significant. Capturing the plastics
plastic carry bags under 40-micron thickness. India is floating in this canal will help in preventing the plastic
taking all steps to ensure that the country becomes free of litter of the Yamuna River. The plastic waste extracted
single-use plastic by 2022 as envisioned by Prime Minister
Narendra Modi, Union Environment Minister Prakash
Javadekar said while launching 'Plastic Hackathon 2021'
campaign. Kick-starting the two-month long awareness
campaign on single-use plastics (SUPs), Javadekar, in an
audio message, said the Environment Ministry has taken
several steps towards eliminating single-use plastic from
the country. Plastics Halkathon 2021 will be a two-month
long campaign with a series of events on reducing plastic
waste generation, recognising the need of effective
plastic waste management, increasing the awareness
of suitable alternatives, sustainable consumption and from the canal will be taken to a Municipal Solid
production and extended producer responsibility (EPR). Waste treatment and Materials Recovery Facility. The
Announcing the campaign, he said it will help finding recyclable plastics will be sent to recycling facilities,
suitable alternatives to SUP and identify new ways of while the non-recyclable plastics will be taken to
plastic waste management. "We are organising a Plastic Geocycle’s facility for pre-processing followed by co-
Hackathon 2021. It will deliberate on plastic waste processing in ACC or Ambuja cement kilns. A bubble
curtain is a non-invasive solution to stop plastic from
entering the oceans. Ships and fish can pass through the
air bubbles, but plastics will be stopped Geocycle the
global waste management arm of LafargeHolcim, that
manufactures building materials, will implement the
innovative ‘bubble curtain’ technology for the first time
in India to stop plastic from entering the Yamuna river.
LafargeHolcim is the parent company of cement majors
Ambuja Cements, and ACC Ltd. Geocycle India is the
in-house waste management arm of Ambuja and ACC,
providing industrial, agricultural, municipal, and plastic
waste management services. “Geocycle’s approach to
management, its collection and what new products can river plastic cleaning is distinct from other river clean-
be made out of it. Suitable alternative to SUP will also be up projects which rely on landfilling or incineration.
discussed in this hackathon. Essay competitions will be Geocycle’s vast co-processing infrastructure guarantees
organised for school kids. The campaign is being organised safe and environmentally friendly final treatment of
by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and the collected waste,” said Neeraj Akhoury, CEO India,
Industry (FICCI), United Nations Environment Programme LafargeHolcim, and MD &CEO of Ambuja Cements
(UNEP) and GIZ (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Limited. “These two technologies bubble curtain and
Zusammenarbeit), a German organisation working co-processing combined offer a good opportunity to
jointly with partners in India for sustainable economic, fight the challenge of marine litter by tackling the
ecological, and social development. problem at the source,” he added.

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