Hyderabad youth bat for plastic-free environment

Hyderabad: The city youth have welcomed the announcement of plastic ban from July 1 with open arms. But a month past the ban, there has been no great improvement either among the businesses in the city or the city dwellers, observes Manoj Vidyalaya, a digital marketer and co-founder of the Dha3R NGO that works towards […]

Hyderabad: The city youth have welcomed the announcement of plastic ban from July 1 with open arms. But a month past the ban, there has been no great improvement either among the businesses in the city or the city dwellers, observes Manoj Vidyalaya, a digital marketer and co-founder of the Dha3R NGO that works towards making the environment a better place.

“I had visited all corners of the city post the ban, but had observed that many firstly didn’t know well about the ban or did not find it important to act accordingly. Some didn’t even have awareness of the ill effects of plastic use,” he says.

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A similar scenario was observed by Arun Daniel, founder of Youngistaan Foundation. “Since the announcement of the ban, we have been making attempts to spread awareness about how plastic usage has been damaging our environment in a long way – to shopkeepers, major and small businesses and also in educational institutions as well,” he shares.

Manoj, with his NGO, has also encouraged kids to participate in lake cleaning, and other cleanliness activities so they become aware of the amount of litter being created through plastic usage. Although many have reacted in a positive way, there has to be a complete reworking on the present lifestyle habits, he says.

An individual contribution:

Despite the efforts of government and NGOs, it finally boils down to how much effort one can put as an individual to live a plastic-free lifestyle. Starting from observing your surroundings and contemplating what are all the plastic items used while it can be easily replaced by other materials, it is a journey towards doing your bit for the environment.

“It began from my water bottle for me. I then slowly started changing everything around me to steel or any other feasible material. Now, I feel more comfortable and less guilty and to my surprise it has turned into my regular lifestyle to avoid plastic usage as far as possible,” shares Sai Tarun, an IT employee in the city.

With an attempt to go back to the traditional habits, Arun shares that he has been suggesting many towards being self-reliant and carrying a bag with necessities like a water bottle/ a flask, minimal cutlery, napkin and so on.

Manoj also points out how if observed, there are many feasible alternatives for plastic things that we use in our lives. “There have been many eco-friendly alternatives available in the market –from toothbrushes to cutlery. Even businesses need to take an initiative towards eradicating plastic use as far as possible.,” Manoj shares.

He also emphasises on how city dwellers can make this change happen just by acting – now!