◊ By SAAPH

Two plastic bin liners from each household in Arun Vihar, a small colony in Noida, Uttar Pradesh, totals to a whopping 9,000 plastic bags per day (2.7 lac per month). With 1.3 billion of us in the country, this author will not attempt to calculate how many billions of used plastic bin liners the whole of India generates on a daily basis.

Plastic bin liners are not recyclable and are adding to the waste crisis of India and the world at large. They are either burned or dumped on to ever growing Mount Everests of waste, as they do not decompose (at least not for 20 years).

The greener and saner solution is waste segregation and the immediate elimination of plastic bin liners. For wet waste, start composting at home. Give your wet waste bin to the safaiwaala without any liner. He will empty it in his wet waste bin/cart. It barely takes a minute to rinse the wet waste bin like one washes any other utensil/bucket in the home.

For dry recyclable waste, bin liners are not required at all. Simply hand over the dry bin to the safaiwaala for emptying. This simple exercise can prevent billions of plastic liners from being added on to the tonnes of plastic waste we’ve already generated thus far.

SAAPH (Sustainable Alternatives Awareness Against Plastic & Household Waste) is a citizens’ awareness initiative by concerned residents of Arun Vihar, Noida