The tiny state of Sikkim, nestled in the Himalayas, has emerged as one of India’s environmental leaders. On June 4 1998, it became the first Indian state to ban disposable plastic bags. The state is also among the first to target single-use plastic bottles. In 2016, it banned the use of packaged drinking water in government offices and events, and the use of Styrofoam and thermocol disposable plates and cutlery in the entire state.
However, with a large number of tourists visiting Sikkim, it was challenging to control the use of plastic water bottles. Nevertheless, on 1 January 2022, the state government banned the use of 2 litres and below plastic bottles in the entire state. Tourists would now need to get their drinking water from filters in hotels, restaurants and public spaces.
WHAT BROUGHT SUCCESS
Sikkim replaced plastic bags with paper, cloth bags and leaves long before environmentalists raised an alarm about plastic choking cities and oceans. It imposed the ban on plastic bags after a spate of landslides in 1998, when experts feared they were partly caused because drains choked with plastic waste left no outlet for torrential rainwater.
And on plastic water bottles, the government held the view that the rampant usage of packaged drinking water in departmental meetings and functions was adding an unnecessary burden on the dump yards so it banned their use in official functions. On 1st January 2022, the government imposed a ban on 2-litre and above-packaged water bottles in the entire state. Impacted by it, Mineral water giant Bisleri challenged the court order. The case is still pending.
Massive awareness drives and heavy penalties have brought the desired results. Government offices switched to alternatives like filtered water, large reusable dispensers and reusable water bottles. Most shoppers come to markets with cloth bags, and stalls offer colourful ones. Fast food joints serve on plates of paper, leaf, areca nut and bagasse – a fibre byproduct of sugarcane processing.
Speaking to Indian Masterminds, District Collector of Gyalshing, Ms. Yishey D. Yongda, said, “We place water filters in strategic places, like near police check posts, so that besides the tourists, even policemen can drink water from them.”
She also set up e-Waste collection centres in government offices as well as in public places with the slogan, ‘Repair. Reuse, Recover, Recycle – Let’s protect Mother Earth by disposing of e-Waste responsibly’, to make it convenient for people to dispose of their e-Waste regularly.
LEADER AMONG STATES
Studies by Delhi-based Toxics Link and Pune-based eCoexist NGOs showed that Sikkim has fared quite well in the implementation of its green policies. The eCoexist’s study found that around 66 per cent of shops in Sikkim used paper bags or newspapers. Significantly, more people were using paper here than in most Indian states.
Through penalties, state-level policies, and a mass awareness programme, this tiny state is doing quite well in trying to free itself of the scourge of plastic pollution. As Gyalshing Collector Yishey D. Yongda, said: “Just as we celebrate Mother’s Day every year, we must love, respect and take care of our Mother Earth, who is finite, and resources aren’t infinite, they deplete.”
