In what is the first initiative of its kind, a machine that crushes plastic bottles has been installed inside the coach of a train in India. This comes in line with the Indian railways continued efforts to curb single use plastic and the call by Prime MInister Narendra Modi to make India plastic free, starting the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi on October 2.??
A PET bottle crushing machine has been installed in an LHB pantry car (Train number 03840 of Western Railways), reported Financial Express.??
The crushing machine has a capacity of 3000 bottles/day and it enables recycling of 90 per cent PET waste bottles. The Indian Railways said in a tweet that the carbon footprint is reduced by 100 per cent during this crushing process and it also avoids littering.?
This initiative by the Western Railways zone of installing the bottle crushing machine may reduce plastic bottle waste to a large extent.The plastic waste is non-biodegradable and has an adevrse impact on the environment.?
The Railway Ministry also shared a short hindi film titled ¡°Main Hoon Plastic Hatela¡± prepared by the Western Railways zone, in an attempt to create awareness against single-use plastic. The short film depicts the dangers of using plastic through the character of ¡®Plastic Hatela¡¯ in an effective and interesting portrayal.
These initiatives by the Ministry of Railways come ahead of the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi when Prime Minister Narendra Modi will announce a countrywide ban on ¡®Single-Use Plastic¡¯.