UN environment ambassador Dia Mirza takes part in drive to remove plastic waste in Shimla

Shimla (Himachal Pradesh) [India], June 25 : Bollywood actress and United Nations on Environment Goodwill Ambassador Dia Mirza on Sunday participated in a campaign called 'Swarnim Himalaya' in which she collected plastic waste from the streets of hill resort Shimla.

The team 'Healing Himalaya' in collaboration with the Himachal Pradesh Environment, Science and Technology Department, Forest department, Himachal Pradesh Police and civic body of Shimla has started the Swarnim Himalaya campaign to remove plastic waste from the Himalayan region.

Speaking to ANI, Dia Mirza said, "Swarnim Himalaya is a very powerful campaign; it will mobilize civil society participation. It will change the mindsets on the ground. In our country there are problems at many levels. Most people think that it is not their job to collect the garbage, but I feel it should be our responsibility. It will also have an impact on the littering process. People will think before throwing plastic anywhere."

The UN Environment Goodwill Ambassador said that once auditing of plastic waste is done, it will help to fix accountability under Extended Producer's Responsibility.

"We shall be able to fix accountability after collecting the waste, Healing Himalaya is going to do a tabulation of that waste , there will be an account, who's packaging and garbage we are getting in maximum number and hopefully we will be able to make them accountable for it also. Because under extended producer's responsibility, it is the responsibility of everyone that it is not only the consumers but also producers who has to be accountable," Mirza said.

Speaking about her participation in the campaign, Dia Mirza said, "It is our collective responsibility to combat plastic pollution. I always felt pride and strength when I participate in these campaigns. It is one thing to feel despondent and helpless about what is happening to the environment. It is another thing to be a part of the healing process. I always feel strengthened when I work with organizations like Healing Himalayas".

Pradeep Sangwan, Organizer and environmentalist said, "We have been working in the Himalayan region to clean the plastic waste; we have focused on those locations where tourism footfall is high. We have started a new campaign "Swarnim Himalaya'. We are trying to make people aware to connect them with the cleanliness drive to tell them that it is our responsibility to clean our surroundings. It resonates with the 'mission life', how we can protect the environment through our lifestyle, how we can protect and keep our surroundings clean through changing our habits."

"Today in this campaign, we have involved over 100000 volunteers for a cleanliness drive at different locations in Himachal Pradesh. We have involved over 30 village Panchayats and 10 schools. We are trying to involve people with responsibility. If we see the population and area in Himachal Pradesh, only 0.79 square feet area is under one individual, we just need to clean that particular area ," he added.

"We shall do an audit and will take ,what kind of waste is there and also which company has the maximum garbage in Himalayas and that needs to be highlighted and by identifying it we shall try to speak to them. We have been collecting 5 ton plastic garbage on a daily basis in Himalayan region," Sangwan said.

On Diya Mirza participating in the campaign, he said, "It is clear that Diya Mirza is concerned and she has been visiting Himalayan region frequently, she is here just for the cause and we need to address it."

One of the young participants in the campaign, Aishwarya said, "This is a wonderful campaign; we are collecting garbage, especially plastic. Diya Mirza has also come here. She is cleaning streets with us, it is a message to all of us to not litter plastic or any other garbage. Most of the garbage recovered from these areas are plastic bottles."

The Swarnim Himalaya campaign was started to make people aware about plastic waste in the Himalasyas and aims to target and fix accountabilities of the producers of plastic packaging material in India. After collecting garbage they formulate data on which company's plastic waste is used and thrown in the Himalayan region of Himachal Pradesh.

Over 10000 volunteers are participating in the campaign in Himachal pradesh in over 30 rural panchayats, ten schools and several towns in the state.

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