Saturated, plastic bottle banks go out of service
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, December 13 2022: Plastic Bottle Bank, a noble initiative but neglected, has failed to serve its intended purpose.

Installed at several places, the plastic bottle banks act as points for collection of used plastic bottles.

Its failure is surprisingly not because people are not using them.

People are indeed using them.

They are depositing used plastic bottles in the banks.

However, with no one collecting the used plastic bottles from the banks for proper disposal, the bins are overflowing with bottles spilling in the vicinity for over a month now.

The plastic bottle bank was initiated with the aim to manage and dispose of used plastic bottles properly.

It was aimed at minimising the threat of used plastic bottles to the environment.

It was very successful for quite some time.

Saturated, plastic bottle banks go out of service

Surprisingly, the Imphal Municipal Corporation, which is responsible for cleaning waste/garbage in the city, is seemingly not collecting the used plastic bottles from the plastic bottle banks.

As a result, the plastic bottle banks are overflowing with bottles.

People are also beginning to dump used bottles in the vicinity of the banks.

With plastic bottles piling up in the vicinity, people of the areas are also facing a dilemma.

They can not dispose of the bottles themselves or burn it as it would cause pollution.

The people in the vicinity of the plastic bottle banks said a competent authority should be made responsible for overseeing and collecting used bottles from the plastic bottle banks.

The people said they are not aware which authority is responsible for collecting and disposing the used bottles.

However, some said it is the duty of the Imphal Municipal Corporation to make the city clean and it should dispose of the used bottles regularly.

One Tokpam Nibash said used plastic bottles are a big threat to the environment if these are not managed and disposed of properly.

The Government should introduce a system to properly manage the used plastic bottles.

More importantly, the Imphal Municipal Corporation is responsible for managing waste plastic bottles.

It is unfortunate that the corporation is not taking their responsibilities seriously.

The corporation should feel responsible and it should be serious about managing waste materials including the used plastic in order to mitigate and minimise their impacts on the environment, he said.

Kshetrimayum Bikash, 25, said merely installing the plastic bottle banks without disposing the used bottles properly will bring no benefit.

The success of the plastic bottle bank depends on a sound and workable system.

Explaining the system, he said, "Firstly people should have the habit of depositing used plastic bottles at the banks and the IMC should regularly collect and dispose of the bottles at a proper plant." Even if people want to dispose of the used bottles, they can not as they lack space and the required infrastructure to recycle or dispose them of.

In developed cities, they have proper systems to treat, recycle and dispose of the used bottles.

If there are no such systems, mere presence of the bottle banks would serves no purpose at all, he added.

Management of plastic waste is one major concern globally.

Proper management to minimise its impact on environment and soil requires collective effort of the people, authorities concerned and dedicated NGOs.

Proper and widespread awareness on the issue is also a must, he added.