Plastic Ban In Tamil Nadu: Government Launches Plastic Pollution Free Tamil Nadu Campaign

New Delhi: With a vision to make Tamil Nadu free from plastic pollution and ensure a better quality of life and a mission to create awareness on the disastrous effects of single use plastics on the environment, Tamil Nadu government on August 23 initiated ‘Plastic pollution free Tamil Nadu’ campaign. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami, gave a green signal to the campaign and launched the Plastic pollution free Tamil Nadu’ campaign at the secretariat.

To promote the message of plastic free Tamil Nadu, the state government has roped in popular film actors as the campaign’s brand ambassadors. Appointing Vivekh, film actor and Padma Shri awardee, as one of the campaign ambassadors, Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami handed him a cloth bag.

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As the campaign ambassador, actor Vivekh has already started promoting alternatives to single use plastic. Recently, the actor put out a message to ditch single use plastic straws and adopt paper straws.

Though the plastic ban in the state is scheduled for January 1, 2019, but to take forward the green message and protect environment from the ill effect of plastic, the government decided to stop the use of plastic folders in all government offices with effect from August 24.

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Plastic Pollution Free Tamil Nadu

To prepare citizens of Tamil Nadu for a life without ‘use and throwaway’ plastic from January 1, 2019, the government announced the ban on June 5, 2018 which is observed as World Environment Day. A preparatory period of six months has been given to come up with viable alternatives for commonly used plastic products.

To make people aware about the ban and series of initiatives that will take place in the future, the government has launched a website – plasticpollutionfreetn.org and a mobile application ‘Plastic Pollution Free Tamil Nadu’. From what is included in the ban and what is not, suggesting alternatives to single use plastic products, to government announcements and initiatives, both online portal and mobile application are one stop destination for citizens wishing to know about the plastic ban. Both the portals also provide an option to citizens to provide their feedback for effective implementation to ban single use plastics.

Also Read: Plastic Ban In Tamil Nadu: Carry Your Own Utensils And Get 5% Discount On Takeaways

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.