Launch of All India sustainability helpline by CGAPP to track Ganga river’s plastic pollution

Rishikesh/IBNS: Centre for Global Affairs and Public Policy (CGAPP), a nonprofit organisation, and Switcheko, a startup, launched a unique all India sustainability helpline (91) 9705100017 to address queries related to plastic pollution and offer solutions and expert guidance on a wide range of sustainability issues.

The helpline was launched during the recent two-day expo at Rishikesh on plastic alternatives and innovative technologies for waste management and river cleaning.

A number of Indian and foreign start-ups, solution providers working on plastic alternatives, river cleaning & rejuvenation and waste management and civil society organisations such as Waste Warriors, Switcheko, Uttarakhand Pollution Control Board, River Recycle, Recykal, Amwoodo, Plastic Fische, Code Efforts and Nirmalya participated in the expo organised on the banks of the Ganga at the Parmarth Niketan Ashram.

The expo is part of the solution component of CGAPP’s comprehensive project on “Tackling Plastic Pollution in the Ganga Basin.” It comprises a research component, a solution component and an outreach component.

The research will be conducted by an all women team in over 12 locations spread across India and Bangladesh. The solution component includes expos at Rishikesh and Varanasi on plastic alternatives and innovative technologies for waste management and the outreach will involve local communities and civil society organisations. The project will also feature a river expedition from Prayagraj to Varanasi and a culminating summit in Dhaka. The aim is to initiate measures for effectively countering the danger posed by effluents and microplastics currently choking the Ganga basin and threatening the aquatic ecosystem and the environment at large.

Any effective and sustainable plan for addressing plastic pollution over such a vast geography with one of the highest population densities in the world depends on building a robust data-driven model. The research project has been undertaken with the aim of contributing towards…