India’s largest transporter, Indian Railways, has taken an eco-friendly step and has announced a ban on single-use plastic across its premises, including trains from October 2.
Following this ban, the Ministry of Railways has directed all railway units to enforce the ban on single-use plastic material with a thickness of less than 50 microns.
According to reports, this initiative to help the environment has been taken following the Independence Day speech by Prime Minister Narendra Modi where he urged citizens to eliminate single-use plastic and use cloth and jute bags instead.
The PM had asked the authorities across the country to make arrangements for collecting plastic in the first strong step in the direction on October 2.
During the first phase, the Railway Board asked authorities to expedite the installation of 1,853 plastic water bottle crushing machines at 360 major stations. The board has also asked Indian Railways Catering and Tourism Development Corporation (IRCTC) to implement the return of plastic drinking bottles as part of the Extended Producer Responsibility.
The Railway ministry has also ordered that all railway vendors to avoid the use of plastic bags. The staff must “reuse, reduce and refuse” plastic material and use inexpensive reusable bags.