New Delhi, June 4, 2018 – The five-day exhibition features dialogue series, information booths and high-level discussions focused on the various facets of plastic, from its many irreplaceable uses in industries like construction, the medical field, and the food industry, to the issue of single-use plastics and the need for sustainable alternatives.
“The problem lies with the way we consume and dispose of plastic,” said Shri Raghavendra Rao from India’s Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers. “In India today, 45% of plastics produced are single-use. That is a major problem.”
Thanks to waste pickers, recycling levels in India are relatively high, sixty of plastic as of today is getting recycled in India, but more must be done to support the large informal sector of waste pickers recycling plastics – and reduce waste.
The exhibition is an opportunity for entrepreneurs across India’s various industries to show their innovative solutions towards a pollution free planet.
Ashok Khosla, Founder and Chairman Development Alternatives, a social enterprise focused on sustainable development emphasized that solutions to tackling plastic solution need to be multi-faceted: “You can’t outright ban plastics because they are so important in our lives. Clearly, plastics are here to stay.”
Aruna Sharma, from India’s Ministry of Steel, touched upon the potential of stainless steel alternatives to plastic: “Steel goods last at least 100 years, and can be part of a more holistic solution if how they are manufactured is also zero-waste.”
The exhibition, which will continue today and tomorrow at the Vigyan Bhavan convention centre Delhi is an excellent starting point for policymakers and industry leaders alike to chart their path to a more sustainable, plastic pollution-free future.
As the global host of World Environment Day 2018, India has put up an impressive array of events, actions, and commemorations across the country leading up to the day. For more information about the day and the events, visit www.worldenvironmentday.global
NOTES TO EDITORS
Resources for media are available here
The celebrations around World Environment Day will be broadcasted on social media:
@UNEnvironment / www.facebook.com/unenvironment.
For news, stories and events around World Environment Day and Plastic Pollution, visit: www.worldenvironmentday.global
About UN Environment:
UN Environment is the leading global voice on the environment. It provides leadership and encourages partnership in caring for the environment by inspiring, informing, and enabling nations and peoples to improve their quality of life without compromising that of future generations. UN Environment works with governments, the private sector, civil society and with other UN entities and international organizations across the world.
About World Environment Day:
World Environment Day is the single largest celebration of our environment each year. Since it began in *1973, it has grown to become a global platform for public outreach that is widely celebrated across the globe. For more information, visit www.worldenvironmentday.global
For media inquiries, please contact:
Keith Weller, Head of News and Media, UN Environment. keith.weller@un.org
*The date was corrected on 30 May 2022
