Packaged Drinking Water Manufacturers and Allied Industries (PDWMAI), Manipur on Tuesday appealed to the state government to lift the ban on half-litre packaged drinking water, stating that the PDWMAI will take responsibility for collecting the empty packages of the said water bottles in the state.
PDWMAI executive member Thangjam Joykumar told the media at Manipur Press Club, Majorkhul, Imphal on Tuesday that PDWMAI welcomed Manipur Plastic Policy, 2022. However, it urges the state government to lift the ban on using half-litre packaged drinking water bottles, he said.
There is a market for half-litre packaged drinking water bottles in Manipur and the manufacturing units are facing a major impact with the ban, he said.
An empty plastic bottle bank has been launched by MAHUD minister and within a month, PDWMAI has been able to collect around 8 MTs of empty water bottles which have been sent to recycling units for shredding, he said. The shredded plastic bottle will be further sent to the recycling unit in Guwahati, he added.
PDWMAI has installed 80 plastic bottle collection banks at various places and has been targeting to install as many as 200 similar banks at other places, he added.
After the signing of MoU with the registered plastic recycling unit in Manipur, PDWMAI will be providing empty water bottles as per the MOU, said Joykumar.
On September 30, PDWMAI will be installing plastic bottle collection banks in collaboration with some NGOs, he added.
