We frequently come across garbage heaps on the sides of roads in urban areas of India. It is rare not to find plastic polythene floating across the street on a sunny morning, and even harder to miss the kilos-worth of plastic packaging disposed of in blue bins.
While the city dwellers of India can give little thought to reducing the use of plastic in their daily lives, the locals of Nagaland have taken it upon themselves to preserve the environment.
Temjen Imna Along recently shared a video, now going viral on Twitter, where a man introduces the local Nagaland way of using organic packaging jugaad instead of employing plastic polythenes for the task.?
In the clip, a vlogger comes across the ingenious jugaad used by Nagaland locals to avoid using plastic, which is not only harmful to the environment but also hinders the beauty of the preserved land through littering.
The vlogger shares how the locals in the area use banana leaves and bamboo fibre to make to-go packets for vegetables sold on stalls. If you travel back to the high-rise cityscapes of Delhi and Mumbai, any local of the area would tell you just how familiar they are with plastic polythenes that are used frequently while buying anything from a store or stall.
From using these plastic bags for carrying food to bathroom essentials, locals in a city are painfully familiar with plastic polythenes. However, in Nagaland, veggies are wrapped in banana leaves and tied up with bamboo fibre to make a jugaad packet of sorts.
The Nagaland MLA was amazed by the Nagaland way of using organic, eco-friendly products in place of plastic bags. He was not the only one gaping at the Nagaland local jugaad but also at the thousands who watched the video on Twitter.
A user pointed out how the packaging idea was important for the health of the environment.?
While another noted that it is not just Nagaland but most of the east-Indian states look after the environment by using organic packaging methods such as the ones shown in the video.
Although most praised the efforts of the locals in Nagaland, one user pointed out how the state is not entirely free of plastic. In the clip, as the user noted, one can easily locate the plastic polythene used to store fruits and hung over the stall.??
Back in 2022, the Nagaland government partially modified the Plastic Waste Management Rules 2021. The government, in order to reduce littering and plastic pollution in the state, banned single-use plastic items, which have low utility and high littering potential. In light of this modification, it seems that such local jugaad is a great way to combat plastic waste.
Tell us what you think about the viral video in the comments below.
For more trending stories, follow us on?Telegram.