I am sure you have traded books, clothes, toys, and other knick-knacks with your sibling or friend, at some point in time.
Formally termed as 'bartering,' this exchange of goods and services, has been used as a trading tool since the earliest times. One of the reasons why this system flourished was the advantage of giving up an item that you no longer needed and getting something useful in return.
Incorporating the same logic to address the problem of plastic waste, government and non-government organisations across the world are coming up with innovative barter options.
Below are five initiatives that India is taking:
1) Plastic Waste As School Fees
When the air pollution from the burning of dry waste, including plastic, reached dangerous levels, Parmita and Mazin Sarma from Pamohi village in Assam decided to accept plastic waste as fees in 'Akshar' a school started by them in 2016.
The school has over 100 kids, and each child brings in around 25 items of plastic items, including polythenes, bags, cups, bottles, etc.
2) Exchange Plastic Waste With A Meal
The Ambikapur Municipal Corporation in Chhattisgarh has opened a one-of-its-kind café that will give a free meal and breakfast to a ragpicker in exchange for one kilo and 500 grams of plastic waste respectively. The collected plastic will be used to construct roads.
The Ambikapur Municipal Corporation in Chhattisgarh has opened a one-of-its-kind café that will give a free meal and breakfast to a ragpicker in exchange for one kilo and 500 grams of plastic waste respectively. The collected plastic will be used to construct roads.
"There are two reasons why we have started this scheme. First, the growing rise of plastic, particularly carry bags, has become a serious issue despite running constant checks on various commercial establishments. So, through this, we are trying to address the plastic problem. Second, there are around 100-odd homeless families for whom we will at least provide meals," says Manoj Singh, the Municipal Commissioner of Ambikapur.
3) Deposit Plastic Bottles & Get your Phone Recharged
There are 160 plastic bottle crushing machines at 128 railway stations across India, and the Indian railways will soon install 400 more.
3) Deposit Plastic Bottles & Get your Phone Recharged
However, this time, there will be an added bonus. The newly installed machines will recharge a passenger's phone in exchange of a plastic bottle, as per recent reports by the Press Trust of India.
4) 500 Grams of Plastic Will Give You Free Food
4) 500 Grams of Plastic Will Give You Free Food
Started by the alumni of Goethals Memorial School and Nishkam Khalsa Sewa in West Bengal's Siliguri district, this barter system gives free food to anyone who brings 500 grams of plastic. The exchange system takes place every Saturday.
5) Give Waste & Sip On Free Chai
With an aim to cut down on the menace of littering that takes place every year during the mega Kumbh Mela in Prayagraj, the mela association and a popular tea brand installed multiple kiosks in several areas this year as per the Times of India.
Conclusion:
2.1 billion tonnes of plastic waste is generated every year, and this figure is likely to jump to 3.4 billion if a collective action to tackle the waste scientifically is not taken soon. The prediction, made by the World Bank, is alarming considering that a single item of plastic takes up to four hundred years to decompose.
In such a grim scenario, efforts like barter-system can go a long way in cutting down plastic waste.
Source& Credit: The Better India
In such a grim scenario, efforts like barter-system can go a long way in cutting down plastic waste.
Source& Credit: The Better India