![\"Problems](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/Problems-of-plastic-waste-in-Himalayan-states.png?resize=571%2C445&ssl=1\")
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S<\/strong>ource<\/strong>-This post on Problems of plastic waste in Himalayan states has been created based on the article \u201cMountains of plastic are choking the Himalayan States<\/strong>\u201d published in \u201cThe Hindu<\/strong>\u201d on 2 March 2024.<\/p>\n UPSC Syllabus<\/strong>–GS Paper-3<\/strong>– Environmental Pollution and Degradation, Environmental Impact Assessment.<\/p>\n News<\/strong>-The article discusses issues of unsustainable plastic waste management practice. Problems of plastic waste in Himalayan states<\/strong><\/p>\n As per The Himalayan Clean up (2018-21) drive and the National Productivity Council of India\u2019s waste and brand audit, there is an increase in plastic waste (especially non-recyclables) in Himalayan states. 1) Legal mandates<\/strong>-The government has brought Solid Waste Management Rules (SWM) 2016, Plastic Waste Management (PWM) Rules 2016 and Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) 2022 to regulate plastic pollution in India.<\/p>\n 2) Initiatives by the state government<\/strong>–<\/p>\n A) Himachal Pradesh has a buy back policy for non-recyclable and single-use plastic waste since 2019.<\/p>\n B) Sikkim banned packaged mineral water use from January 2022.<\/p>\n C) Tripura has made policy changes, enacted municipal by-laws and had a State-level task force to eliminate Single Use Plastic<\/p>\n Read more- Plastic Pollution in India: An Overview<\/a><\/p>\n 1) Urbanization and Changing Consumption Patterns<\/strong>-Rapid and unplanned urbanization, coupled with changing production and consumption patterns, contribute to the plastic waste crisis.<\/p>\n 2) Unsustainable Tourism<\/strong>-Unsustainable tourism and a rapid rise in the number of tourists is contributing to an increase of plastic pollution problems in the region. 3) Unscientific plastic disposal<\/strong>– India has one of the highest mismanaged waste index (MWI), at 98.55%, in the world (after Kenya, Nigeria and Mozambique). This index measures the gap in waste management capacity and plastic consumption. 4) Lack of adequate power for local bodies<\/strong>– Under the SWM, PWM and EPR, local bodies are required to perform the task of collection and scientific disposal of plastic waste. 5) Data gaps-<\/strong> There is a need for scientific method of data collection on quantum and quality of plastic waste.<\/p>\n 1) Resource Allocation and Support<\/strong>-Adequate resource allocation, infrastructure development, and empowerment of local bodies are crucial for effective waste management, considering the region’s ecological sensitivity.<\/p>\n 2)Public Participation and Education-<\/strong>Public engagement through sustained education campaigns and waste segregation initiatives is essential to address the plastic waste crisis.<\/p>\n 3) Convergence of Schemes-<\/strong>Convergence of existing schemes like Swachh Bharat Mission, Finance Commission grants, and corporate social responsibility funds can enhance resources for waste management infrastructure and operations.<\/p>\n Question for practice<\/strong><\/p>\n Why is plastic pollution increasing in Himalayan states despite various statutory and legal measures?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Source-This post on Problems of plastic waste in Himalayan states has been created based on the article \u201cMountains of plastic are choking the Himalayan States\u201d published in \u201cThe Hindu\u201d on 2 March 2024. UPSC Syllabus–GS Paper-3– Environmental Pollution and Degradation, Environmental Impact Assessment. News-The article discusses issues of unsustainable plastic waste management practice. Problems of… Continue reading Problems of plastic waste in Himalayan states<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10320,"featured_media":285684,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1230,9],"tags":[59,216,10498],"class_list":["post-285621","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-9-pm-daily-articles","category-public","tag-environment","tag-gs-paper-3","tag-the-hindu","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/Problems-of-plastic-waste-in-Himalayan-states.png?fit=1280%2C1000&ssl=1","views":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/285621","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10320"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=285621"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/285621\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/285684"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=285621"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=285621"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=285621"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}What is the status of Plastic waste in Himalayan states?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\nFor ex-A) The Himalayan Clean up (2022) waste audit results showed that 92.7% of trash was plastic, with 72% of waste being non-recyclable plastic.
\nB) In Assam, at the Ramsar site of Deepor Beel, Greater adjutant storks are eating the plastic waste in the landfill instead of fish from the wetland.<\/p>\nWhat are the legal and statutory provisions to deal with plastic pollution?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
What are the reasons for increasing plastic waste in Himalayan States?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\nFor ex- the National Green Tribunal has issued notices to Cental Pollution Control Board (CPCB), the Himachal Pradesh State Pollution Control Board and Environment ministry on waste dumping in eco-sensitive areas by tourists and commercial establishments.<\/p>\n
\nAs per Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), India is recycling (through mechanical recycling) 12% of its plastic waste, burning 20% of its plastic waste and 68% is unaccounted for.<\/p>\n
\nHowever, only a few States have enacted model by-laws to empower local bodies.<\/p>\nWhat should be the way forward?<\/strong><\/h2>\n