Green Drive In Kerala: Government Bans Plastic Plates During Wedding Ceremonies
In a bid to create awareness on the damage caused by waste materials on the environment including plastics generated during weddings, the Kerala government may soon introduce green or eco-friendly weddings.
According to a report by an English Daily, the state government has already started discussions with religious and social organisations. With the support of the local bodies and the Suchitwa Mission, the programme will be implemented.
“Suchitwa Mission is an organisation of Government of Kerala, under the Local Self Government Department responsible for evolving implementation strategy, providing the policy in the sectors of sanitation and various solid and liquid waste management issues, providing technical inputs for sanitation and waste management projects,” the website reads.
Speaking to the newspaper, C V Joy, state director (operations) of Suchitwa Mission, said that apart from wedding parties and religious festivals, Iftar meets in the month of Ramadan, would also come under the programme.
The government is inspired to promote plastic-free and zero waste weddings from the successful implementation of the green protocol in major events such as the National Games, the Attukala Ponkala and the Malayatoor Perunal, with support from the Suchitwa Mission, the report adds.
The Kerala government has already started its mission to ensure a plastic-free environment a few months back.
Last month, Kerala’s capital, Thiruvananthapuram was ranked first in the annual city governance ranking in a recent national survey and is now on its way to being declared as complete ‘plastic-free’ zone soon.
As an initial step, the City Corporation had imposed a blanket ban on all types of plastic carry bags within its limits from March 1. Quoting a corporation source, a PTI report said that green protocol has also been made mandatory for the conduct of all festivals and celebrations.
Besides plastic carry bags, use of plastic sheets, multi-layer plastic covers, disposable plates and glasses and packaged commodities will also be banned in the next phase.
(This report was published in Outlook)