Page 64 - Plastics News May 2019

IN THE NEWS

UNGA president praises India’s Bengaluru's BBMP to focus on

war on plastic pollution waste treatment

nited Nations General Assembly President Maria he civic body Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagar Palike
UFernanda Espinosa Garces has praised India’s war Thas decided to increase the capacities of the seven
on plastic pollution. Speaking in Noida on the problem waste treatment plants in the city. The BBMP estimated
of plastic pollution choking the oceans and efforts to the average amount of trash dumped at Bellahalli to
be 1,000 tons, but it increased to 2,000 tons from last
\HDU IROORZLQJ WKH KH FORVXUH RI WKH RWKHU ODQGÀOOV ,W
said Bellahalli had taken eight lakh tons of waste from
the city since 2016. Of the 4,500-5,000 tons of waste
produced in the city each day, the BBMP processes
about 2,250 tons at the seven treatment plants located
at various places. Of these, the plants at Kannahalli,
Chikkanagamangala and KCDC process 500 tons per
day, while the Lingenahalli, Doddabidarikallu and
Subbarayanapura plants process 200 tons each. The
SODQW DW 6LJHKDOOL SURFHVVHV WRQV D GD\ :H KDYH
combat it, she singled out India for its efforts. “Let me GHFLGHG QRW WR LGHQWLI\ DQ\ PRUH SODFHV WR EH D ODQGÀOO
just mention and praise India for its commitment”, she DIWHU %HOODKDOOL ÀOOV RXW %%03·V MRLQW FRPPLVVLRQHU
said.. Espinosa said, “The challenge of plastics is one IRU VROLG ZDVWH PDQDJHPHQW 6DUIDUD] .KDQ VDLG :H G
that spans the entire globe, every region, every ocean, like to process all the waste generated in the city.
HYHU\ HQYLURQPHQW LV LPSDFWHG :H PXVW ZRUN RQ WKLV :H ZLOO WKHUHIRUH LQFUHDVH WKH FDSDFLW\ RI DOO WKH
together”. She has made the war on single-use plastics SURFHVVLQJ SODQWV :H OO GR ELR PLQLQJ LQ WKH SUHYLRXV
a priority of her presidency and launched her campaign ÀOOHG RXW ODQGÀOOV OLNH LNH 0DQGXU 'RGGDELGDULNDOOX
against it last December. About 15 million tonnes of plastic Bingipura and Lakshmipura once the solid waste turns
litter pollute the oceans every year, according to some into methane gas that could be extracted," Khan added.
calculations. To bring the message to a wider audience,
especially the young, she announced a festival against
plastic pollution,”Play it Out”, in Antigua in June. The
concert with the theme of “Play it Out 2 Phase it Out” is to
be streamed online by the UN TV and headlined by Ashanti,
a Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter and actress
along with Machel Montano, a Soca musician.“This concert
is about raising awareness, it’s about educating people to
the seriousness of .the situation”. It is estimated that 90
per cent of plastics ending up in the oceans come from 10
rivers, among them the Ganges. The metro cities of Delhi 7KH ELR PLQLQJ ZLOO ÀUVW EHJLQ LQ WKH DEDQGRQHG ODQGÀOO
and Mumbai and Tamil Nadu state have banned various at Baglur. It will continue at Mittaganahalli by early next
types of single-use plastic. The United Nations General \HDU :H·OO XVH TXDUU\ SLWV WR GXPS RWKHU W\SH RI ZDVWH
$VVHPEO\ 81*$ RU *$ )UHQFK $VVHPEOpH JpQpUDOH $* like construction debris, e-waste and others," Khan
is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations said. A French company will mechanically segregate
(UN), the only one in which all member nations have equal waste supplied by the BBMP into energy, which would
representation, and the main deliberative, policy-making, then be sold to the Karnataka Power Corporation
and representative organ of the UN. Limited at a cost of Rs 7.08 per unit.

64
Plastics News May 2019 66