New Delhi, Sep 13 (PTI) The government has roped in Indian Oil Corporation to recycle the hundreds of tonnes of garbage, mainly single-use plastic, removed from coasts as part of a 75-day beach cleanup campaign.
The campaign, helmed by the Ministry of Earth Sciences, will culminate on Saturday, which happens to be Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s birthday, and see the participation of governors, Union ministers, chief ministers and public personalities.
“Our focus will be on recycling most of the single-use plastic removed during the beach cleaning campaign titled ‘Swachh Sagar, Surakshit Sagar’,” Earth Sciences Minister Jitendra Singh told reporters here.
He said an estimated 15,000 tonnes of garbage is expected to be collected during the campaign that was launched on July 5 and timed to conclude on the third Saturday of September, which is also observed as “International Coastal Clean-up Day”.
Earth Sciences Secretary M Ravichandran said IOC is leading the efforts to recycle the plastic waste collected during the campaign.
“We have activated our network of recyclers who will convert the waste into recyclate. This recylate will be used in the manufacture of non-food items such as furniture, pipes, car parts,” a senior official said.
On Saturday, Singh will lead the campaign at the Juhu beach in Mumbai, Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan will participate in the campaign at the Puri beach and former Union minister Pratap Chandra Sarangi at Chandipur.
Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel will be at Porbandar (Madhavpur), Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant and Governor P S Sreedharan Pillai will participate in the beach cleaning campaign in the South and North Goa beaches respectively.
Kerala Governor Arif Mohammad Khan will be at Kochi, while Union Minister V Muraleedharan will be at the Kovalam beach in Thiruvananthapuram.
Karnataka Governor Thawar Chand Gehlot will join the campaign at the Panambur beach in Mangalore and Telangana Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan will lend her helping hand at the Puducherry beach. PTI SKU RC
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