JAIPUR, 30 JUNE

The Jaipur Heritage Municipal Corporation has successfully turned single-use plastic seized during its various drives into a lucrative venture by reusing and selling it to cement manufacturing plants. The civic body has taken up an initiative to reuse and sell thousands of tons of single-use plastic seized during its campaign against their use. Instead of destroying the harmful polythene, it has installed Refuse Derived Fuel machines at the Langdiawas and the Mathuradaspura dumping yards to crush the plastic and sell it to cement manufacturing plants and make furniture.

The corporation has seized about 6,000 kilogrannes of single-use plastic during its action in markets in the past three to four months and generated revenue by selling it to cement plants through, officials said. "Disposal of the seized single-use plastic was a major issue. We assessed that a supply chain exists in the system and installed Refuse Derived Fuel machines at dumping yards to shred the plastic and sell it to cement manufacturing plants. It has also started generating revenue for the corporation," Jaipur Heritage Municipal Corporation Commissioner Abhishek Surana said.

He said the plastic could also be used for making roads and the corporation was exploring the opportunity. The civic body's health branch has launched a comprehensive campaign against single-use plastic and enforcements teams have seized more than 6,000 kilogrammes of plastic. Rs 35 lakh has been earned by fining offenders and a significant amount has been made by selling the plastic to the cement plants, Surana said.

Apart from the polythene taken out of the garbage, seized single-use plastic is also crushed into small pieces. The polythene is taken out from the garbage and dried for two-three days. It is then crushed in the machines for reuse to make benches, chairs, tables and selling to cement plants, the officials said. Since July 1, 2022, the Central Pollution Control Board has enforced a ban on single-use plastic items. The Rajasthan State Pollution Control Board has also imposed a ban, restricting manufacturing, stocking, distribution and sale of single-use plastic items. Later, the civic bodies also declared a ban on single-use plastic and instructed stakeholders to comply.