Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri Launches Campaign To Promote Reuse And Recycle Of Old Clothes And Toys

New Delhi: Union Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Monday (May 15) launched a campaign — “Meri LiFE, Mera Swachh Shehar” — to promote reuse and recycle of old items such as clothes, shoes, toys and books, according to an official statement. According to the statement, urban India is increasingly adopting the principles of making wealth from waste with citizens actively refurbishing old items for reuse. This is giving an impetus to the overall zero-waste ecosystem under the Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban 2.0.

This nationwide campaign aims to highlight cities to set up “reduce, reuse, recycle (RRR) centres” — one-stop centres for citizens to contribute clothes, shoes, old books, toys and used plastic to be reused or recycled.

This three-week campaign will strengthen citizen’s resolve under SBM-U 2.0 to reduce, reuse and recycle and will also champion Mission LiFE’s objective of taking collective action for the protection and conservation of the environment by adopting sustainable daily habits, the ministry said.

The ministry said that reuse or upcycling of common household goods has been an integral part of Indian culture.

Taking a cue from this shared habit, the minister launched the “Meri LiFE, Mera Swachh Shehar” campaign to champion waste management principles of reduce, reuse and recycle, the statement stated.

Also Read: Centre Approves Proposal To Transform Plastic Waste Into Flower Pots In West Bengal’s Hills 

The RRR centres are scheduled to be launched nationwide on May 20 and will serve as a one-stop solution for citizens, institutions and commercial enterprises to deposit unused or used plastic items, clothes, shoes, footwear, books, and toys.

After collection, these items will be given to different stakeholders to be refurbished for reuse or would be made into new products, thus truly taking forward the government’s vision of a circular economy, the ministry added.

Also Read: In A Message To Sustainability, PM Modi Wears Jacket Made From Recycled Plastic Bottles

(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.