Plastic pollution has plagued the whole world and Indian government has been persistent on its goal to make the country free of single-use plastic. After implementing ban on single-use plastic in government buildings and railways, airport premises are being free of this non-biodegradable product.
Recently, GMR-led Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL) announced that Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGI) has become the first airport to be free of single-use plastic usage in the country.
Talking about this, DIAL Chief Executive Officer Videh Kumar Jaipuriar said,
Our objective to make Delhi airport free from single-use plastic is in line with Prime Minister’s vision to abolish all single-use plastic from India by 2022. DIAL is committed to preserve the environment and do its bit.
The Confederation of Indian Industry – ITC Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Development (CII-ITC CESD), which is known for helping business communities towards achieving sustainability, has certified DIAL for its voluntary and successful implementation of measures to make the airport single-use plastic-free within IGI Airport’s operations.
According to reports, Delhi airport was the first-ever Indian airport to commit to the country’s mission of ‘single-use plastic-free’ in 2019. Following the Environment Day in September 2018, the airport committed itself to the theme of ‘Beat Plastic Pollution’.
IGI airport becomes India’s first to be single-use plastic-free / Image: Times of India
After its commitment to the cause, the airport adopted eco-friendly sustainable alternatives that significantly help it to eliminate its plastic waste generation to achieve the goal. However, a few plastic items were excluded from the list of banned items including sealed PET bottles, security tamper-evident bags, compostable plastic bags and pre-packaged materials for sale.
IGI is the busiest Indian airport both in terms of cargo and passenger-carrying capabilities. It handles annual traffic of around 68.5 million passengers every year.
Meanwhile, with the help of some proactive measures, Calicut International Airport has been successful to implement the ban on single-use plastic for the past one year. Plastic items such as drinking straws, single-use plastic cutlery and plates were banned in airport premises and use of eco-friendly alternatives has been advised.
Implementing such environmentally-friendly measures has become essential with the rapidly changing climate. Hopefully, other Indian airports will follow the example of IGI to eliminate the single-use plastic pollution.
Via: Times of India