Plastic Free Kanyakumari

A Big Leap Forward by Little Kanyakumari District to Eschew Plastics
Written by V.Ganapathy
BORDA Partner - ExNoRa International




There is a new mantra among environmentalists fighting to end the menace of plastics in today’s world. Sorry but it is not the conventional Reduce, Reuse and Recycle (3R). But it is a Replicate. Mr. Rajendra Ratnoo I.A.S, District Collector, proved that the Municipal Solid Waste Management Rules promulgated almost a decade ago could indeed be implemented without harm to anyone. Incredible as it may sound, it is only too true and cannot be believed but only to be seen. For the past month throughout Kanyakumari District, the battle has been won against plastics. It is almost a win-win situation for all. The butcher, the grocer, the vegetable shopkeepers, the fish merchant, hospitals, petty tea shop owners and roadside nongu (Palmyrah) fruit drink sellers have all said NO to plastics. The auto driver, school teacher, 90-year old pilgrims from Allahabad, taking a holy dip in the sea near the Kanyakumari temple or the tourists congregating at the stand to board the ferry to the Vivekananda rock - all have joined hands with the District authorities, willingly to take up the crusade against plastics. All four municipalities, 56 Town Panchayats and 99 Village Panchayats have not only passed laws prohibiting the use of low-grade plastics and plastic articles but scrupulously observe the spirit of the law from April 1st, 2010


IEC Campaign

An intensive awareness creation campaign was launched on December 2nd, 2009, and the Green Kanyakumari Plan and war against plastics launched by Mr. M. K. Stalin, Deputy Chief Minister. Sensitisation of the people and all stakeholders to bring about change in their attitude and then triggering off behavioral changes was the main strategy.

To enlist the support of NGOs, CBOs and local leaders, the Friends of Nature Society of Kanyakumari, which was dormant for sometime, was revived. An intensive awareness campaign was conducted in the municipalities of Nagercoil, Padmanabhapuram, Kuzhithurai and Colachel, 56 Town Panchayats and 99 Village Panchayats in a participatory manner. The District Collector participated in all meetings which were attended by local political leaders, ward councilors and officials of various departments and a special role was played by the Pollution Control Board officials.

A significant feedback at the meetings from the public was that most of them accepted the menace due to indiscriminate use of plastics. A few shopkeepers and a section of political leaders expressed their apprehension at enforcing the rules effectively and wondered why the government of India or Tamil Nadu did not ban the manufacture of low quality plastic material. However, the Collector managed to convince them and ensured that all preparation to substitute low quality plastic packaging material will be made available so that the ban will not cause harm to any section of the public.

Resolutions by Local Bodies

All the local bodies in the District passed resolutions banning the use of plastics as mentioned under the MSWM rules 2000. On the eve of Pongal, it was announced that the ban would come into force from April 1st, 2010.

Reaching out to the public

Many novel methods were adopted to carry the message of the evils of plastics. A separate website was created (http://www.avoidplastics.com). Voice messages were sent by mobile phones by the District Collector to a large number of people for about a month every day. Banners, posters, sticker bills and the like were displayed at vantage points, on public vehicles, in public places and so on. Messages were sent through the local FM network, cable network and cinema theatres.

The Education Department organised painting and quiz competitions on the environment, the dangers of plastics, and the beauty of the mountainous and coastal environment of the little District. Students took out rallies and organised street plays and skits, all on the protection from plastics.

The roadmap to success

The District Collector strictly enforced the plastic ban in his home and then in the Collectorate. Next, at the meeting of Heads of all Departments, the plastic ban was explained and the same was enforced in the respective offices. This was strictly monitored by the District Collector and all District Officials. Seeing the gearing up of all Government Departments to ban plastics had a salutary effect on the general public and other stakeholders. The day-to-day monitoring of the activities of the Municipalities, Town Panchayats and Village Panchayats as per the prescribed report form, went a long way in ensuring the success of the preparatory phase for eschewing plastics.

Restoring the dignity of the bag – the Yellow bag

The Collector convened special meetings of officials of the District Rural Development Agency, Women Development Corporation, NGOs, Federations of SHGs and merchants engaged in the production, supply and marketing of cloth bags, paper bags, jute bags, palmyrah products, banana leaves and so on and drew up a plan to maximise their supply by April 1st to make the transition smooth. Banks and many members of the Friends of Nature Society came forward to supply cloth bags free-of-cost to selected sections and areas in the District.

Special Squads

In close touch with the District Pollution Control Board, about 100 special squads were formed across the District to ensure that plastics were not used as packaging material after April 1st. The teams went around their designated areas from March 1st and appealed to the public, traders and other stakeholders not to use plastic and that they should exhaust all their existing stocks before April 1st. The fine for violation of the Rules was Rs.50 for the user, Rs.500 for the shopkeeper and Rs.1, 000 for the sellers of plastic carry bags.

Pleasant Surprise

A pleasant surprise awaited the anxious District Administration on D-Day, April 1st. The adherence to the ban on plastic was spontaneous and overwhelming. All sections of society switched over to alternate packaging materials wholeheartedly swiftly and smoothly. The authorities had to book just 15 cases of violation of the Rules in the entire District so far. The Merchants Association of the District hailed the move and appealed to all traders to ban plastic in their business.

Unexpected Bonus





Most merchants, traders, hotel owners, etc. were spending amounts ranging from Rs.200 to Rs.500 per day for supply of plastic covers to their customers. Thanks to the ban on plastics, banana leaves, lotus leaves, cloth bags or paper packs were given by the traders to their customers. For supply of cloth bags for carrying home the merchandise, they supplied bags and collected Rs.3 or Rs.4 per bag. Thus, merchants were able to make considerable daily profit since they no longer needed to give free plastic bags. Customers who bought the cloth bags in the first couple of days started bringing their bag daily for further purchases.. Petty shops stopped selling oil in plastic bags and many customers subsequently came to the shops with bottles. The yellow bag is making a comeback much to the delight of the environmentalist..

To keep up the enthusiasm, the District Administration very successfully conducted mass cleaning of water bodies like tank beds and river banks for a week from April 20th to 27th.

Adventure Carnival





An adventure carnival was organised by the District Administration and Friends of Nature Society of Kanyakumari on April 24th and 25th when parachute sailing, Russian ladder, Burma Bailey Bridge crossing, Food Mela, Dog and Pet show, skating, elocution, photography, painting and quiz competitions were held for students and the general public. Over 40 senior school art teachers took part in the painting competition titled “Preservation of the Beauty of Nature in Kanyakumari”. Mr.Rajendra Ratnoo I.A.S, District Collector participated in the four- hour painting competition displaying through his work the beauty of the magnificent tree and in its shadow the stumps of the trees that were cut by human greed. Mr. Rajendra Ratnoo has given a new dimension to the mantra of reduce, reuse and recycle to the environmentalist. The District has shown how to achieve the goal of a plastic-free environment and has also successfully implemented the same. V. Ganapathy, Liaison Officer, ExNoRa International, along with the Garland Service Society, Trichy, provided the necessary social and technical support to the District Administration in the campaign.

The Kanyakumari R & R. model is simple and easy to follow since its success was due to meticulous planning, sincere implementation with adequate monitoring and an approach to make the entire challenge a win-win situation for all.

source;www.borda-sa.org