Dia Mirza And Afroz Shah Urge Plastic Companies To Come Forward And Play Their Part To #BeatPlasticPollution

New Delhi: Over the weekend, as Mumbai’s famous beach spot Marine Drive turned into a garbage dump, thanks to hide tides spilling tonnes of waste and plastic trash along the river bed, Environmentalist Afroz Shah and Actor and UN Environment Goodwill Ambassador Dia Mirza took to social media to make people realise how everyone’s actions are messing up with the environment. Afroz Shah said,

Dear Ocean, we messed with you and your citizens. I feel ashamed as a human that I got you to this breaking point. You Puke and we know you are unwell. Please forgive me my dear fishes and birds for messing with your life’s.

Also Read: High Tide Spills Garbage Along Marine Drive, 12 Tonnes Removed

View Afroz Shah’s Post

With an appeal, Afroz Shah who has been doing his bit for the environment for 143 weeks with regular clean-ups at Mumbai’s Versova Beach, he added,

Plastic producers step forward to implement ‘Extended producers responsibility (EPR)’. It is the mandate of the law. Fulfill your legal obligation. Citizens are doing their duty to protect the environment, it is time you come forward.

Extended producers responsibility (EPR) is a policy approach under which plastic producers have the responsibility for the treatment or disposal of post-consumer products effectively.

Urging the producers to do their bit Actor and UN Environment Goodwill Ambassador Dia Mirza said,

Implementation of ‘Extended Producers Responsibility’ – EPR is the need of the hour. Every piece of plastic packaging is by law the producers (companies that package all our food and beverage in plastics) responsibility. It’s time companies do their bit. #BeatPlasticPollution

Companies In Support Of Maharashtra Plastic Ban

On June 23, Maharashtra announced a state-wide plastic ban, wherein the use of single-use plastic items such as spoons, forks, cups, plates, glasses, bowls, and containers, disposable thermocol items have been prohibited.

Also Read: Maharashtra Plastic Ban: Two Weeks On, Checklist Of Banned Items Issued And Plastic Buyback Scheme Announced

Till now, companies such as PepsiCo and Walmart India have pledged their support for the Maharashtra Plastic Ban. As a part of their efforts to increase plastic recycling in India, PepsiCo has partnered with Gem Enviro Management to set up reverse vending machines for the collection and recycling of plastic bottles in the State. Whereas, Walmart India has pledged to remove single-use shrink wrap used for storing merchandise and replace it with sustainable storage solutions by 2019.

NDTV – Dettol Banega Swachh India campaign lends support to the Government of India’s Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM). Helmed by Campaign Ambassador Amitabh Bachchan, the campaign aims to spread awareness about hygiene and sanitation, the importance of building toilets and making India open defecation free (ODF) by October 2019, a target set by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, when he launched Swachh Bharat Abhiyan in 2014. Over the years, the campaign has widened its scope to cover issues like air pollution, waste management, plastic ban, manual scavenging and menstrual hygiene. The campaign has also focused extensively on marine pollution, clean Ganga Project and rejuvenation of Yamuna, two of India’s major river bodies.