Himachal govt approves policy to buyback plastic

SHIMLA: In an effort to make the state litter-free, the Himachal cabinet on Tuesday approved a draft policy to buyback non-recyclable plastic waste, an official spokesperson said.


The cabinet gave its approval to the policy at a meeting held under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur on Monday.


The draft policy will be implemented soon, whereby plastic would be purchased at a minimum support price of Rs 75 kg by urban local bodies (ULBs) in the state, additional chief secretary (Environment Sciences) and HP State Pollution Control Board chairman RD Dhiman said.

Purchasing centres in all 54 ULBs of the state would soon be opened, he added.

Dhiman told PTI, "Plastic has already been banned in the state but it can still be seen scattered in various parts as tourists keep on throwing it here and there and it is still being used in packaging. So the decision of purchasing the plastic has been taken."

The purchased plastic would be sold to the Public Works Department for the construction of roads by mixing it with bitumen and to cement companies as fuel, he added.

Himachal had banned the use of polythene bags 10 years ago on October 2, 2009.