Plastic Pollution: Maharashtra Joins World Economic Forum’s Global Plastic Action Partnership

Davos: India’s largest state in terms of GDP and home to the country’s financial capital Mumbai, on Sunday joined the World Economic Forum’s Global Plastic Action Partnership (GPAP) to advance regional efforts to fight plastic pollution. With the new partnership announced here during the WEF Annual Meeting 2022, Maharashtra has joined a growing list of global economies that will leverage the GPAP platform to drive localised solutions for the circular economy.

Also Read: Environment Ministry Notifies Guidelines On ‘Extended Producer Responsibility’ For Plastic Packaging

The partnership will bring together Maharashtra’s leading policy-makers, business leaders, civil society organizations and experts to formulate a state-level plan to eradicate plastic pollution.

The announcement follows the fifth United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA 5), where a resolution was adopted in March 2022 that will hold member nations legally accountable for their contributions to the global plastic pollution crisis.

By joining the Global Plastic Action Partnership, Maharashtra aims to enhance its commitment to curbing plastic pollution, raise its ambition, and ensure accountability and inclusivity throughout the value chain.

The Ministry of Environment and Climate Change of Maharashtra will work with GPAP to launch a National Plastic Action Partnership (NPAP) in Maharashtra as a platform to tackle plastic waste pollution, according to a statement from the WEF.

The GPAP-Maharashtra is the first in India. Maharashtra has an estimated population of 124 million people, larger than countries such as Ethiopia and the Philippines, making this a significant partnership in per capita terms.

Nations currently implementing such partnerships include Indonesia, Ghana, Pakistan, Vietnam and Nigeria.

Also Read: India Committed To Eliminating Single-use Plastic, Says PM Modi At One Ocean Summit

“This agreement with the World Economic Forum’s Global Plastic Action Partnership marks a critical juncture in our state’s battle against the plastic pollution endemic,” said Aaditya Thackeray, Minister of Environment and Climate Change for Maharashtra.

Covid proved a hurdle towards our single use plastic ban, where health priorities in PPP took precedent. Now as we refocus on our climate and sustainability objectives, we are laying the foundation to deliver the systems-wide change needed across sectors. This partnership is the building block as we transition towards a more resource circular approach to tackle climate change while strengthening our economy, he added.

The NPAP model creates a circular economy framework for plastics through a locally-led, locally-driven platform. In Maharashtra, it will bring together the state’s most influential policy-makers, business leaders and civil society advocates. This group will deliver a state-level action plan to radically reduce plastic pollution and connect high-potential solutions with strategic financing opportunities.

GPAP is thrilled to partner with Maharashtra to continue their efforts to tackle the plastic pollution problem, said Kristin Hughes, Director of the GPAP.

Maharashtra is positioning itself as a leader nationally in India in the fight against plastic waste pollution. In March 2018, the Government of Maharashtra banned the manufacturing, sale and use of single-use plastic bags. It also banned an array of single-use plastic products, including cutlery, straws and containers.

Also Read: India’s Plastic Waste Generation More Than Doubled In 5 Years: Centre

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

NDTV – Dettol have been working towards a clean and healthy India since 2014 via the Banega Swachh India initiative, which is helmed by Campaign Ambassador Amitabh Bachchan. The campaign aims to highlight the inter-dependency of humans and the environment, and of humans on one another with the focus on One Health, One Planet, One Future – Leaving No One Behind. It stresses on the need to take care of, and consider, everyone’s health in India – especially vulnerable communities – the LGBTQ population, indigenous people, India’s different tribes, ethnic and linguistic minorities, people with disabilities, migrants, geographically remote populations, gender and sexual minorities. In wake of the current COVID-19 pandemic, the need for WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) is reaffirmed as handwashing is one of the ways to prevent Coronavirus infection and other diseases. The campaign will continue to raise awareness on the same along with focussing on the importance of nutrition and healthcare for women and children, fight malnutrition, mental wellbeing, self care, science and health, adolescent health & gender awareness. Along with the health of people, the campaign has realised the need to also take care of the health of the eco-system. Our environment is fragile due to human activity, which is not only over-exploiting available resources, but also generating immense pollution as a result of using and extracting those resources. The imbalance has also led to immense biodiversity loss that has caused one of the biggest threats to human survival – climate change. It has now been described as a “code red for humanity.” The campaign will continue to cover issues like air pollution, waste management, plastic ban, manual scavenging and sanitation workers and menstrual hygiene. Banega Swasth India will also be taking forward the dream of Swasth Bharat, the campaign feels that only a Swachh or clean India where toilets are used and open defecation free (ODF) status achieved as part of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2014, can eradicate diseases like diahorrea and the country can become a Swasth or healthy India.