Photo Credit : Licypriya Kangujam/Twitter

The 10-yrs-old noted climate activist – Licypriya Kangujam has commenced an initiative called ‘plastic money shop’ at the Delhi University, to raise awareness on eliminating ‘Single-Use Plastics’ items from their daily lives.

People can bring any single-use plastic (SUP) waste from home and receive free rice or stationery items or a sapling at this ‘plastic money shop’.

“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 stated.

“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 noted.

Kangujam further mentioned that the collected SUP waste would be sent for upcycling; in order to create environmentally friendly road tiles, housing roof sheets, and school benches.

“We will ship all of the gathered SUP debris to Rajasthan, Gujarat, and Uttar Pradesh for upcycling in order to make environmentally friendly road tiles, home roof sheets, bricks, and school seats. The most intriguing aspect is that I also have all of these things on display in my store,” the climate activist from Manipur stated.

Delhi produces 1,060 tonnes of plastic garbage every day, and SUP debris is thought to account for 5.6% (or 56 kg per metric tonnes) of the city’s total solid waste.

Kangujam further stated that similar campaigns will be kicked-off across other states from next week; and that the ‘plastic money shop’ will relocate to various schools in Delhi from 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.

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.

Taking to Twitter, Kangujam stated “Today open the World’s first “Plastic Money Shop” at Delhi University to eliminate single used plastic waste in India. From tomorrow, it will move to various schools. People can bring single used plastics & can take free school stationary items or rice or a sapling ”

Today open the World's first "Plastic Money Shop" at Delhi University to eliminate single used plastic waste in India. From tomorrow, it will move to various schools. People can bring single used plastics & can take free school stationary items 🎒📚 or rice 🍚 or a sapling 🌱.🙏 pic.twitter.com/KRwtOQph7m

— Licypriya Kangujam (@LicypriyaK) July 10, 2022

“It was my honour to highlight my unique art of the portrait of our Hon’ble PM Shri @narendramodi ji made by upcycling of single used plastics to the students of Delhi University today at my “Plastic Money Shop”. ”

It was my honour to highlight my unique art of the portrait of our Hon'ble PM Shri @narendramodi ji made by upcycling of single used plastics to the students of Delhi University today at my "Plastic Money Shop". 🙏 pic.twitter.com/8y5lwXuL7f

— Licypriya Kangujam (@LicypriyaK) July 10, 2022