An extensive three day field study by Abhishek Singh, Bhaskar Tripathi and Pyare Lal part of the Gati Foundation Team along the 32 kilometre Dehradun-Mussoorie road of over sixty Maggi Points, threw up some startling facts.
As part of the Gati agenda, the audit was pegged around the legal concept of Extended Producer Responsibility which is an integral part of the Plastic Waste Management Rules 2016.
The reports show how Maggi sales, per day, during peak-business was a staggering 31.7%. The sale of the yellow plastic wrapped maggi was highest in the summer month of June with a sudden dip in the wet and gloomy month of August, when tourists visiting the area are at an all time low.
What is even more alarming is the fact that 55% shopkeepers said that they burnt empty packets to dispose them off while a mere 15% disposed off the garbage on the garbage collection vehicle. Why none of the shopkeepers were using larger Maggi packets? Many would ask, to decrease plastic waste! A whopping 51.7% blamed distributors failing to provide them with the larger variant of the popular product.
Research and policy-oriented Gati Foundation has been working on war-footing with its growing numbers of members and volunteers in the field of environmental policy and regulations, sustainable mountain development, urban governance and public health. To implement proper collection of plastic waste and its disposal being on the top of their agenda.
Taking to Newspost, Director, Anoop Nautiyal stated, “Our mountains are facing a great environmental risk due to the easy to handle and small sized Maggi packets and sundry other similar products. Influx of tourists is worsening waste management scenario. Absence of any proper mechanism for collection and disposal of waste is resulting in parallel mountains of plastic waste.”
Taking the matter up with people concerned authorities, Gati Foundation will be submitting a formal report of their findings with Nestle Pepsi Patel Agro, uprising them of the growing menace as well as filing a formal complaint with the Pollution Control Board as well, along with a signature campaign to spread awareness.
Come on-board & sign-up for a cleaner, greener tomorrow:
https://bit.ly/MyEndorsementToEndPlasticPollution
