The Himalayan Cleanup 2020 has been shortlisted by European Outdoors Conservation Association. Vote to show your support!
Integrated Mountain Initiative (IMI) along with Zero Waste Himalaya (ZWH) organised the Himalayan Cleanup (THC) in 2018. It is a pan-Himalayan initiative which aims to raise awareness about waste management in the Himalayan Region. On May 26th 2018, 12 states, 200 organisations and more than 15000 volunteers gathered to conduct cleanups in various regions. THC was organised after a brand audit conducted by GAIA Asia. The report revealed that more than 60 per cent of the waste was multilayered plastic waste.
This time, the Himalayan Cleanup 2020 has been shortlisted for a grant by the European Conservation Outdoor Association (EOCA). It is the only project from India that has been shortlisted. The project has entered the final voting round under the mountain category. All shortlisted projects are given two weeks to gather as many votes as possible in order to secure the grant. The voting window opens on March 28 and closes on April 11.
The activities that shall be supported by the grant are.-
- A Workshop on waste with representatives of 12 mountain states and regions
- Training for peer educators in all 12 mountain states and regions across the Indian Himalayan region.
- Clean-up across the 12 mountain states and equipment for THC 2020
IMI and Zero Waste Himalaya would like to appeal to everyone to support us by firstly voting and also to take forward voting campaigns in your own circles.
Every individual has one vote which can be cast here.The steps are mentioned below:
1. Please click on the link to go to the voting page.
2. Select The Himalayan Cleanup (its right at the end, and nominated by the Grangers)
3. Click the ‘vote now’ button located below the project description to cast your vote for us
4. Click to prove ‘I am not a robot’ and follow instructions, once prompted.
5. Click ‘I have read terms and conditions’
6. Submit your vote. You can use other devices too and follow the same process.
THC 2018 has spread far and wide. It involves more than 15000 volunteers. The goal of the initiative is to generate awareness regarding waste management in the Himalayas.
IMI is a platform advocating policies and practices with a mountain lens across the Indian Himalayan Region. ZWH is a network of practitioners promoting zero waste principles as a sustainable waste management system.
Background
Looking back at the Himalayan Cleanup 2018, we have gained crucial insights in the form of data collected during the cleanups. The Himalayan Cleanup drive organised on May 26th 2018 has revealed that more than 95 percent of the trash collected during the cleanup was plastic waste with more than 60 percent being multi-layered plastic. This type of waste is non-biodegradable.
Responding to the call of the Integrated Mountain Initiative (IMI) and Zero Waste Himalayas, more than 200 organisations with over 15000 volunteers have come together to organise over 250 Himalayan Cleanup drives. At a presentation organised during the session on Himalayan ecosystem made by the MoEF CC as part of World Environment Day 2018, the IMI and Zero Waste representatives presented the findings of the cleanup campaign. In his keynote address, Member of Parliament Shri P D Rai, ( from Sikkim) spoke about the urgent need to address the issue of plastic pollution in the mountains.
The Himalayan Cleanup was organised to draw the attention of the masses on the growing problem of plastic waste in the mountains. The sacred Himalayas are getting degraded and polluted because of plastic waste.The waste audit organised as part of the cleanup drive gave insights regarding the consumption patterns as well as the type of waste being generated in the mountains. The information collated showed that 97% of waste collected was plastic. ‘Not a patch of ground is free of plastic waste’ was the most common expression across the clean up sites in the 12 mountain states.
The top 5 polluters by number across the sites were:
Multilayered Plastic | 62.67% | Most commonly found plastic which has no solution |
Single use plastics | 17.19% | Plastic layered paper cups, plastic, polystyrene utensils. Totally avoidable |
PET Bottles | 9.10% | Bottles of packaged water was the highest in number Recyclable but not collected |
Other Plastic Items | 5.09% | |
Tetrapak | 3.32% | Large volume of juice packs and milk Recycling challenges |
Taking the question of who is responsible for the waste, the Himalayan Cleanup Drive conducted a brand audit in collaboration with the Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives. The brand audit reveals the top brands that are polluting our mountains and asks the brands to take responsibility of the waste generated through the Extended Producer Responsibility mechanisms.
The Himalayan Cleanup recommends mountain cleanup policies to stop single use and multilayered plastic. Extended producer responsibility, especially for multilayered plastic, PET and tetrapak is of utmost necessity. No incineration/burning of waste in the sacred and ecologically sensitive Himalayas is also an important recommendation.
Zero Waste Himalaya is a platform bringing together organisations and individuals that advocates sustainable waste management practices in the Himalayan region based on principles of zero waste. The group has been actively working across the Sikkim and Darjeeling with the relevant government institutions. Volunteers are also joining in.
The Zero Waste Himalaya group has been working on waste management issues for the past 10 years. The Himalayas have, for long, been portrayed as pristine and pure. It is time to restore their purity and sanctity.
Point of contacts:
Roshan Rai – Zero Waste Himalaya and IMI Darjeeling | 09932024812
RP Gurung – Zero Waste Himalaya and IMI – Sikkim | 09733088003
Priya Shrestha – Zero Waste Himalaya and IMI | 09434153401
Animesh Gautam – Zero Waste Himalaya | 09609081616
zerowastesikkimdarjeeling@gmail.com
https://inmi.in/ | http://zerowastesikkimdarjeeling.blogspot.com/