AIZAWL, June 6 - Aizawl will soon become a plastic- free city, officials of Aizawl Municipal Corporation (AMC) said on Thursday.
AMC Mayor, PC Lalhmingthanga said that framing of a bye-law which will ban single-use polythene bags and other plastic products of below 50 micron has been already completed and is awaiting approval from the State Government.
The bye-law will come into effect from August 1, 2019, and will be enforced in stricter manner from October 2 (Gandhi Jayanti), he also said. However, plastic products allowed by Plastic Waste Management Rules, 2016 and which are recyclable will not be banned, he added.
According to Lalhmingthanga, the AMC has constituted a committee on plastic free city headed by councillor Lalhmingmawia to monitor ban on plastic products of below 50 microns.
During 2016 to 2017, the AMC studied the status and environmental damage of plastics and had asked all churches to use steel plates instead of thermoplastic plates during festive season like Christmas and New Year. Lalhmingthanga said that the order was highly honoured by the churches.
Aizawl is the largest city and commercial hub of Mizoram with a population of more than 2.93 lakh. It has figured on the list of 100 smart cities in the country. At present there are 67,594 household families in the city and the total volume of waste generated in a day is estimated to be around 159.80 metric tonnes.
