THAT'S LEADERSHIP: Kanyakumari Collector Rajendra Ratnoo (extreme right), along with Government officials and public representatives removing plastic waste and other garbage dumped in a water body near Nagercoil.
The buzzword that ensured the success of this anti-plastic campaign at the southern tip of the country's main land was: ‘Practice before you preach'.
By involving the government officials and the public representatives - right from the ward members to the MLAs and even the lone lady MP from the district - in the war against plastic, Mr. Ratnoo has had a resounding success in his anti-plastic campaign.
Surprisingly, all of them welcomed the ban imposed by the district administration on the non-degradable and non-recyclable plastic products and used only cloth bags during their shopping. The dictum did not arise from the Collector, but from the public representative who discouraged the production, sale and use of the banned plastic products.
After conducting a study for six months in the district on the prevalence of plastic carrybags and other non-recyclable plastic products such as cups among the consumers, the crusade against these harmful products was divided into three phases – creating awareness, conducting leadership camps and finding a suitable alternative for plastic bags and cups.
Even as awareness rallies were conducted and pamphlets were circulated by the district administration without setting any sudden deadline for the elimination of non-degradable and non-recyclable plastic products from the district, the Collector started his war from the first stage – creation of awareness among the public, particularly among the stakeholders like manufacturers, traders and the users by telling them the hazardous impact of the plastic products.
The next stage involved the participation of the stakeholders' representatives in the leadership awareness camps and then the introduction of right alternative product for plastic bags and cups – tastefully designed and coloured low-cost degradable cloth / paper bags.
Apart from this, both print and electronic media and the communication gadgets too came in handy for the Collector, who made arrangements to send more than four lakh short messaging service through the early warning system in the district.
Mr. Ratnoo's voice cascaded from every telephone appealing to the public to avoid hazardous plastic products. Plastic awareness jingles, composed by the local music troupes, were aired repeatedly by the FM radio stations. The already enlightened stakeholders were moved by the personal appeal that sounded the death knell for non-recyclable plastic products in the district.
“It's really a win-win situation for everyone here. While the public shuns the hazardous plastic products and switches over to the paper / cloth bags, small businessmen, who manufacture paper or cloth bags, get orders for products throughout the year as demand for these eco-friendly products in Kanyakumari district is at an all-time high. Flowers and garlands, once packed in the polythene bags, are now being sold in plantain leaves. Tea or coffee is being served in paper cups produced by our SHGs. It's really refreshing as a huge sum of money spent for buying these hazardous materials is now going to our farmers, SHG members and the paper or cloth bag-makers” says Mr. Ratnoo.
Though the battle against plastic products has been won decisively, no forcible seizure of plastic cups or bags or registration of case against anyone for selling the banned product has been reportedly from any part of the district. “If you sincerely practise what you preach, you can swing any situation in your favour,” asserts Mr. Ratoo.
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