East Jaintia Hills hosts workshop to tackle SUP

Syllad | The Rising MeghalayaNovember 12, 2024

The office of the Deputy Commissioner, East Jaintia Hills District, in collaboration with the Meghalaya State Pollution Control Board (MSPCB), Shillong, organized a workshop on the Elimination of Identified Single Use Plastics (SUP) on November 11 at the Conference Hall, Office of the Deputy Commissioner, East Jaintia Hills District, Khliehriat.

The workshop aimed to generate awareness among all concerned stakeholders and featured two sessions. The first session was organized for District Heads representing various Government Departments, while the second session targeted Traditional Heads, restaurant owners, local vendors, and distributors of East Jaintia Hills District.

The event was attended by Additional Deputy Commissioner of East Jaintia Hills District JU Kharpuri, Additional Deputy Commissioner & Project Director of District Rural Development Agency (DRDA) East Jaintia Hills District Gautam Warjri, Assistant Commissioner of East Jaintia Hills District F. Wann, Environmental Engineer of MSPCB Shillong Y. F Laloo, Assistant Environmental Engineer of MSPCB Shillong R.R Marak, among others.

In her address, Additional Deputy Commissioner JU Kharpuri emphasized the importance of collective effort and community involvement in eliminating identified Single Use Plastics, highlighting the critical nature of environmental conservation efforts.

During the workshop, resource persons from the MSPCB, Shillong, discussed various aspects of the issue, including types of plastics and identified plastics banned such as Petro-Based Plastic Carry Bags less than 120 microns, Non-woven Plastic Carry Bags less than 60 GSM, plastic sheets or similar items not part of multilayered packaging, and plastic cutlery including plates, cups/glasses, straws, stirrers, and knives.

Other topics covered during the one-day workshop included Extended Producer Responsibility, Identification-labelling/marking, provisions of the Plastic Waste Management Rules, and the Responsibility of Local Bodies.