Telangana District giving 6 eggs in exchange of 2 kg plastic waste

Representational Image (Wikimedia)

Telangana has been in the news for a while for its fight against pollution. This time, the state’s Kamareddy district did it proud, when the collector launched a campaign to cut down single-use plastic.

The ‘Sensitise Incentivise’ campaign, which was launched by Kamareddy District Collector N Sathyanarayana, promised to give half a dozen eggs to residents who hand over 2 kg plastic waste.

The drive to reduce plastic waste would be overseen by all grassroots level and municipal staff. Besides, a committee has been formed to ensure there’s no shortage of eggs that are to be rewarded to anyone who comes to them with 2 kg of plastic at their collection points. This committee will include district officials, members of non-profit organisations, and members of traders’ associations, reported The News Minute.

The campaign was kickstarted following Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao’s announcement that Telangana would ban single-use plastic completely, over health and environmental concerns.

According to Sathyanarayana, since the commencement of the clean-up drive, nearly 15,000 kilos of single-use plastic has been collected by the three municipalities over the past three months. He said he wants the initiative to eventually become a peoples’ movement.

“The government is keen on preventing the use of single-use plastic. So, we thought why not do something innovative and healthy. That’s how the plan to dole out three eggs for every kilo of plastic collected, was born,” he added.

The district collector further said, “We aimed to sensitise people about the hazards of single-use plastic. The distribution of eggs is a healthy incentive for people to participate in the campaign against single-use plastics.”

The government officials have tied-up with several kirana shops to set up plastic collection points, where participants would be given eggs in exchange for plastic.

“For now, donors are providing the eggs. If we require more, we will arrange through Collector’s funds. We plan to give prizes on Republic Day to the villages which perform well in the drive,” Sathyanarayana said.

In the past, a similar initiative was started by the Mulugu District Collector C Narayan Reddy. Under this, citizens were encouraged to pick up single-use plastics and exchange them for one kilo of rice.