As per CPCB reports, plastic contributes to 8% of the total solid waste, with Delhi producing the maximum quantity followed by Kolkata and Ahmedabad.
Only 60% of the total plastic waste is being recycled. Households generate maximum plastic waste, of which water and soft drink bottles form a large number.
For a country with 1 billion plus people, it is impossible to stop plastic use all of a sudden since it is a part of our daily lives. Therefore, the need is to reduce the use of plastic, while finding alternative ways to re-use plastic waste. Moreover, the attention towards reducing plastic must call for people to first stop generating plastic waste, before moving on to putting an end to the use of plastic.
Safe Water Network India, a not-for-profit organization, working towards enabling the rural and urban poor with safe and affordable drinking water, has been one of the pioneers of understanding this and working towards it. They have been working on reducing plastic pollution by adopting different but effective methods to help the environment.
Safe Water Network has worked with dozens of communities in three different states to provide over one million people with affordable access to reliable safe water. However, while promoting the cause of safe drinking water the not-for-profit ensures that by allotting water cans to families and encouraging the consumer to fill water in their own bottles from Water ATMs they are limiting the use of plastic for consumption of water daily.
Additionally, recycling of water purification system components and water cans at end of life are enabling to lower the burden of plastic waster across 4 states in the country. Safe Water Network also reuses waste water for toilets and farm irrigation.
