New Delhi, Jul 11 (PTI) In a bid to encourage the public to eliminate single-use plastic items from their daily lives, 10-year-old globally recognised climate activist Licypriya Kangujam has started an initiative called 'plastic money shop' at the Delhi University.

People can bring any single-use plastic (SUP) waste from home and collect rice or stationery items or a sapling for free at the 'plastic money shop'.

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“For every one kg of SUP waste, two kg of rice or two notebooks or a pencil box or a plant sapling will be given for free,” Kangujam told PTI.

"Anyone can bring any single used plastic waste from home like plastic water bottles, polythene bags, ice-cream and chips packet covers and other such items. The idea is to help the poor by giving them rice and stationery items and saplings for those who don't need rice or stationeries but contributed to my cause. We are also promoting various sustainable eco-friendly products," she said.

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She said that the collected single used plastic waste will be sent for upcycling to produce eco-friendly road tiles, house roof sheets and school benches.

"We will send all the collected SUP waste for upcycling to Rajasthan, Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh to produce eco-friendly road tiles, house roof sheets, bricks and school benches. The most interesting part is that all these products are displayed in my shop as well," the climate activist from Manipur said.

Delhi generates 1,060 tonnes of plastic waste per day and SUP waste is estimated to be 5.6 per cent (or 56 kg per metric tonnes) of the total solid waste in the national capital.

Kangujam further stated that similar campaigns will also be started in other states beginning next week and that the 'plastic money shop' will move to various schools in the national capital July 12 onwards.

"Eatables that we buy are usually packed in a single used plastic and end up in a landfill or lake or river. While it is affecting our health and environment, animals and marine lives are at stake due to this plastic pollution crisis. I trust my little efforts can help reduce the crisis. We must reduce our plastic consumption at home," she said.

A ban across the country prohibiting the manufacture, import, stocking, distribution, sale and use of identified SUP commodities, including polystyrene and expanded polystyrene, came into effect from July 1.

The banned items are earbuds, plastic sticks for balloons, flags, candy sticks, ice-cream sticks, polystyrene (thermocol), plates, cups, glasses, forks, spoons, knives, straws, trays, wrapping or packaging films around sweets boxes, invitation cards, cigarette packets, plastic or PVC banners of less than 100 microns and stirrers.

Speaking about the nationwide ban on SUP, the 10-year-old environmentalist said that banning only a few SUP items can't help fight the plastic pollution completely.

"The nationwide ban is a good start but we need to ban all types of SUP products, including plastic water bottles and chips and ice-cream packets, which contribute as the main pollutants," she said.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)