Solid waste is not worthless. It is environment-friendly to recycle it and “recycling provides jobs to 100,000 waste pickers in Delhi,” says Bihar Pollution Control Board scientist Dr Naveen Kumar.

And in Karnataka, plastic waste is used in the construction of roads, because of which they are water-resistant, Kumar said, while talking about ‘Plastic Waste and Bio-Medical Waste Management’ at a Bihar State Pollution Control Board workshop on Friday.

Explaining plastic waste processing technologies, Kumar cited laying of roads. “Its strength is doubled when enforced with plastic, less bleeding is witnessed during summers and it acquires water-resistance, all this at no extra cost,” Kumar said. Community has an important role to play here. “In Ludhiana, the municipality has involved residents in handling their own waste and even made money available for it”, he said.

He said the state pollution control board and civic bodies are authorised to ensure implementation of Plastic Waste Management and Handling Rules 2011. Municipal authorities must check open burning of plastic waste, he said. Carry bags should be either colourless or made using IS 9833:1981 pigments. Those from recycled plastic should not be used to store, carry, dispense or package food as it could contaminate food.

How does one tell recycled polythene from a non-recycled one? Kumar says: “Black polythenes are mostly recycled. White ones are always virgin. Carry bags made of virgin, recycled or compostable plastics, less than 40 microns thick, should not be manufactured, stocked, distributed or sold.”