Aafrin Kidwai 
The Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) is hosting a one-day National Conclave to release its latest report, The Plastic Life-cycle.
A pool of domain experts from the government, industry, research institutes, municipal administrations, and other stakeholders is participating in the conclave in Delhi. Speaking at the inaugural event, Mr Parameswaran Iyer, IAS, CEO, NITI Aayog said, “The key issue here is the governance of plastics management, which is mainly an urban issue at present. Our policies seem to be on track but we need to involve all segments of society – municipal administration, waste pickers, and all the other stakeholders, as well as behavior change. How do we communicate the key messages so it becomes mainstream and people understand the importance of segregation?”
Describing plastics as the biggest anthropogenic mess we are leaving behind, CSE Director Sunita Narain, underlined the importance of understanding where the plastic comes from, where it flows, and finally lands up, in a bid to solve the plastics problem.
This report is an effort to understand the plastic life cycle and the plastic pollution challenge from the perspective of the different stakeholders who are integral to the landscape – from the extraction of fossil fuels to end-of-life approaches such as co-incineration.
The report can be downloaded from the CSE website.
