Taking an important step towards tackling the menace of plastic waste in India, the government has completely banned the import of solid plastic waste/scrap into the country.

In a bid to raise awareness about the impact of plastic and encourage the use of eco-friendly alternatives, Pratidin Time has come up with a campaign '#SayNoToPlastic' under which it proposes to make the city a plastic-free zone.

The main purpose is to make this drive a people's initiative wherein the public will be encouraged to switch over to cloth bags and completely do away with plastic bags when they go to markets for purchasing groceries. This will reduce the plastic waste so generated and will be good for the city's long-term environmental health.

The district administrations in the state passed fresh prohibitory order under Section 144 of the CrPC to ban the use of certain types of plastic and polythene carry bags with immediate effect. As per the order, all carry bags made of virgin or recycled plastic less than 50 microns in thickness have been banned in the district.

According to an official estimate, 25,940 tonnes of plastic waste is generated every day in the country. Plastic takes anywhere between 450 to 1,000 years to decompose.