According to the alliance with zero waste, Himalaya is about 70% of plastic taken from the entire Himalayan belt non -recyclable. File photo: Special arrangement
Guwahati
A disposable packaging of food and beverages is more than 84% of plastic waste in the ecological of the Himalayan region, found a team of non -governmental organizations against waste.
According to the alliance with zero waste, Himalaya is about 70% of plastic collected from the entire Himalayan belt from Ladakh to Aruunachal Pradesh non -recyclable and has no market value.
The playfulness of the environmental reality has come to light in the Himalaya network, which took place in Bir Himachal Pradesh in April, where the alliance components lamented over the failure of contemporary policies in solving unique challenges of mountain ecosystems.
The Alliance was started by Himalaya, an organization based in Sikkim, and the Integrated Mountain Initiative based in Uttarakhand.
Both organizations at the head of the Himalayan cleaning (THC), one of the largest movements against plastic pollution in the Indian Himalayan region, since 2018. BIR convergence against BIR plastic groups took place a month before their annual collection of plastic waste from 26 to 30 May.
Gaia-Asia Pacific and Break Free have supported plastic meeting, two global networks “determined to end pollution to plastics by promoting real solutions”.
And Statement ISSUED by the Alliance on Thursday (May 8, 2025) Said, ”Over The Past Six Years, The Data Has Indicated that The Himalayan Waste Crisis is Fundamentally and Production and Systems IsSue Rather Than and Post-Consumer Waste Management Flaw. Behavioural Change Was Acknowledged and emphasized, The Need for Systemic, Policy-Level Interventions and A Paradigm Shift Away from Centralized, Extractive Waste Was Seen as Critical. ”
Participants have identified the critical need for recovery of producers’ liability in mountain areas and called for a paradigm from centralized and extraction waste systems towards solutions in local reality and traditional wisdom.
Over recycling
The report issued by THC said the 2018 waste collection exercise was carried out at more than 250 volunteer locations. In 2024, more than 15,000 members gathered 350 plastic waste from 450 seats.
Among the nine Himalayan countries aimed at 2025, Sikkim created the most waste objects. A total of 53,814 (44% of the total) pieces were audited at 86 locations. This was followed by Darjeeling West Bengal with 36 180 items audited in 37 locations.
The volunteers in Ladak lifted and audible 11,958 pieces of garbage in 18 locations. Nagaland and Uttarakhand followed Ladakha to take the fourth and fifth places.
Exercise across nine countries brought 1,21,739 pieces of garbage, of which 1,06,857 were plastic, mostly disposable, divided into six categories: packing of food, household products, personal care products, smoking material, wrapping material and more.
The report stated that 84.2% of plastic waste was a pack of food and drinks. These packages were audited to collect data on the best corporate polluters in the Himalayan belt.
“The food packaging was 71% of plastic waste non -recyclable. THC2022 and THC2023 showed 72% and 77.4% of all collected plastics were non -recyclable, mainly multilayer sculptures and tetrapak and diapers and diapers and diapers and diapers that are not selected and diapers Found, and diapers and diapers that are not selected and are found and diapers and diapers and diapers who are not selected and are found during waste and are selected and diapers and diapers, are selected and diapers and diapers and diapers and diapers that are chosen.
“So it is necessary to look at the solution outside the recycling lens,” he added.
The THC2024 was led across villages, schools, tourist places and protected areas. Water formations and rivers were most full of tourist sites.
The report also stated that the Alliance would require mountain sensitive policies, increased sources allocation, and urgent attention to the intersection of climate waste, food safety and biological diversity in the Himalayan region.
This year, organizations from Bhutan and Nepal joined the Clean Himalayan Region campaign.
Published – May 9, 2025 9:54
