The Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC) has enforced an unconditional ban on single-use and reusable plastics in order to combat escalating plastic pollution in Vizag. The GVMC will begin enforcing this restriction on June 5, 2022, to commemorate World Environment Day. Anyone who uses single-use or non-biodegradable plastics will be punished.
Vizag residents are being asked by GVMC officials to come up with alternative solutions to the use of plastics, which they see as a threat to the environment. Consumers are being asked by commercial entities such as retailers, shopping malls, and medical shops to give environmentally friendly alternatives. G Lakshmisha IAS, GVMC Commissioner, has urged NGOs and other cooperative organisations to develop paper and jute bags as a substitute for plastic bags.
The GVMC is also supposed to advise houses of worship to avoid using plastics on temple grounds. Within a year of enacting the ban, the local body hopes to achieve zero-plastic usage in Vizag.
On the 16th of May, a massive beach clean-up campaign was held in Vizag, with 65 tonnes of garbage recovered, the most of which was plastic debris. The Sagara Teera Swachata clean-up drive was attended by Visakhapatnam District Collector A Mallikarjuna IAS, VMRDA Chairperson, GVMC Commissioner, and other district authorities.
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