1.25lac Youth Take Pledge to Create Plastic Waste Free India at Atmiya Yuva Mahotsav

Dr. Vinod Shukla, President of Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay Smriti Manch and Nephew of Late Deendayal Upadhyay, pledged 1.25lac youth to safeguard mother earth from the threat of plastic waste pollution during the Atmiya Yuva Mahotsav 2020, organized by Shri Hari Ashram (Swami Narayan Sampraday).

Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay Smriti Manch and Shri Hari Ashram will also train 100 Gujarati youth as recycling ambassadors, to educate citizens especially young generation about the methodology of generating revenue and employment from waste management, recycling and clean technology industry. The NGO also installed a Reverse Vending Machines for PET bottles recycling at the venue and plans to install 100 more machines across the state.

Addressing the youth Dr. Vinod Shukla said, “To impart the teachings of ‘Harmony-Brotherhood-Unity’ and spiritual harmony, Swami Narayan Sampraday brought together more than 2lac youth from across the globe. Just like the internal(mind) pollution, we also need to get rid of external pollution such as single-use plastic waste. It pollutes the earth as well as adversely affects our health. In order to address the problem of plastic pollution, we need to empower the next generation of entrepreneurs and innovators with abilities and innovative instincts. This is an important time for the humanity since the actions taken by this generation will decide the future course of our planet. I appeal to all the youngsters to join hands with us to strengthen the waste collection and recycling ecosystem in our beautiful country. We can create more than 5lakh new employment opportunities in the recycling industry and ensure that our plastic waste don’t end up in landfills or water bodies.”

Currently, 25,940tonnes of plastic waste is generated in India every day, nearly 40% of it remains uncollected. Increased awareness about waste collection and recycling industry amongst the next generation of inventors and entrepreneurs will result in the creation of a reformative economy and a greener future for India. According to NOVONOUS study, the India’s waste management sector is expected to be worth US$13.62 billion by 2025 with an annual growth rate of 7.17 percent.

Speaking on the collaboration with Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay Smriti Manch to train youth on sustainable businesses, Tyagvallabh Swamiji said, “The importance of training youngsters in environment friendly business practices is unprecedented. The entire globe is struggling to deal with packaging waste, and we are creating a global youth movement to deal with plastic waste scientifically. We need to reduce our dependency on unnecessary packaging and ensure that we dispose our waste post segregation, so it could be recycled to create value and jobs. As a pilot project, we will be working with Dr. Vinod Shukla to educate and train 100 youth from Gujarat in waste management, recycling and clean technology processes.”

A leading expert on environment and packaging pollution, Dr. Vinod Shukla played a pivotal role in banning the import of plastic waste nationally. In Gujarat alone, 18,100,000kilogram of plastic waste was getting imported from Pakistan, Bangladesh and other countries. Under Dr. Shukla’s leadership, the NGO is educating students, entrepreneurs, corporates about good v/s bad plastics, ways to deal with packaging waste like plastic pouches, bottles, tetra pack etc. and raising awareness about recycling methodology.