SHIMLA: Himachal Pradesh, in a first for the nation, has devised a policy which will see them buying back non-recyclable plastic wastes at Rs 75 per kg. In a bid to prevent the degradation of the environment due to littering of plastic, the state government will be purchasing the waste from private as well as public players in the state. The policy which enables the government to procure the plastic waste was drafted by the department of environment, science and technology based on the concept of attaching value to waste.
The gram panchayats can collect the plastic waste and bring it to the nearest urban local body, which will be paid Rs 75 for a kg of waste. “The idea is to attach value to waste just like people collect newspapers and sell them so that we can keep our environment protected and free from plastic,” said RD Dhiman, Additional Chief Secretary, Environment.
The plastic bought will be sold to the Public Works Department (PWD) who would utilise it for the construction of roads and to the cement industry to be converted into fuel.