Colleges, universities to be plastic-free in Odisha

Bhubaneswar: Now all the higher education institutions in Odisha will be plastic-free as the use of polythene and plastic materials will be completely banned on premises of the universities and colleges.

Intensifying the Swachhata Hi Seva movement to make entire country plastic-free, the Ministry of Human Resource Development (HRD) has asked all the states including Odisha to issue the guidelines to higher education institutions so that they can make alternative arrangements.

The authorities have been asked to implement the guidelines soon in the colleges and universities across the state. They have also been asked to take action against the officials and students for failing to obey the rule after creating awareness on the premises.

In the directive issued by the UGC, the educational institutions have been asked to put a ban on use of plastic materials in canteens, shopping complexes, hostels and replace plastic water bottles. They will encourage all the employees and students to pick up plastic waste in their surroundings and bring those to a central location in the institution.

As per the guidelines, the collected waste must be disposed so that it could be used for recycling or industry sector.

The state has been asked to systematically ban the use of plastic materials and replace it with environment friendly substitutes. The educational institutions have been asked to carry out awareness campaign and workshops on harmful effect of use of plastics.