With only a “flow’ of them in the mountains and no sustainable management mechanism in place, a “deluge of plastics” has made waste management a daunting task in mountain states, experts working in the field have said.

The experts, representatives from mountain states, discussed ways to bring in a “reuse revolution” as they attended a webinar recently. Organised by the Integrated Mountain Initiative (IMI) and Zero Waste Himalaya (ZWH), the online meet on 7 August also discussed eradication of single-use plastics and Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) in the Himalayas.

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“Discussions were held on the issue of single-use plastic bans, EPR, Himalayan Cleanup 2021 Report, the launch of the Plastic Freedom Challenge and to set forth future pathways,” said Roshan Rai of the ZWH and IMI. According to the organisers of the webinar, the discussions were held against the backdrop of the issue of single-use plastics becoming a matter of grave concern, especially in mountain regions that have additional issues of geography and land availability and high tourist traffic.

“The deluge of plastics has made waste management a daunting task, with there only being a flow into the mountains with no mechanisms to manage them sustainably. The waste keeps on accumulating in landfills, hillsides and water bodies, polluting the fragile ecosystem,” the IMI and the ZWH said.

They added that there was a dramatic increase in multilayered plastic that is predominantly from food and personal care packaging. “The polls that were conducted during the webinar threw some interesting insights on the waste management scenario. The poll to understand challenges faced by waste managers indicated that the top-most challenge was bringing behavioural change among people, followed by a change in waste profiles, lack of clear policies and lack of political leadership,” a press release issued by the organisers said.

On whether single-use plastics could be eradicated from the mountains, more than 64 per cent of the webinar, participants indicated a possibility for it. “Some of the key action points that were indicated by the participants were on investing in long-term behavioural change, mountain-specific policies and plans and implementing extended producer responsibility. Participants were also of the view that technical capacities were low and needed to be built, awareness on updated rules and regulations were needed, along with working to build political will,” the release added.

According to the release, the key speakers highlighted the need for companies to be transparent about their efforts on dealing with plastic waste reduction, while also raising concerns of what is passing as co-processing and recycling under the EPR. It maintained that various states also shared the status and challenges of single-use plastic eradication and waste management in general. The event also saw the launch of the Plastic Freedom Challenge, which is in its sixth year.

“The challenge calls on people and organisations to not use plastics from August 8 to Independence Day, thereby bringing about a reuse revolution that will reduce waste loads in the mountains,” the release said. The online meet had elected representatives from urban and rural bodies, government officials from the Swachh Bharat Mission, State Pollution Control Board, Urban Development Department, Forest Department, Educational institutions as well as representatives of civil society organisations working in the waste sector.