The South Dinajpur district administration has taken an initiative to check pollution caused by plastic or PET (polyethylene terephthalate) bottles.

In five of eight blocks in the district, the administration installed machines where people can dispose of plastic bottles. The machines would shred the bottles into minuscule pieces.

Naveen Kumar Chandra, the additional district magistrate (zilla Parishad), said: “For the first time in the state, plastic bottle crushing machines have been installed in our district as a government initiative. We have installed seven machines in five blocks, and soon, more such devices will be placed in the remaining three blocks.”

“The machines will shred the bottles, and the recycled plastic can be used to make roads and other items. We want the people of South Dinajpur to dispose of the plastic bottles in the machines. This will help reduce environmental pollution caused by plastic materials,” he added.

According to him, the machines have already been installed in Balurghat, Tapan, Hili, Kushmandi and Gangarampur blocks.

A shopping mall, a restaurant and a diagnostic centre have extended support to the project, which has been taken up under the Swachh Bharat Mission, to encourage people to use the machines to dispose of PET bottles.

“Once a person disposes of a plastic bottle in any machine, he will have to type his cellphone number into the machine. Then, a list of options will pop up. The person will then have to choose any option, and a message will be sent to the number,” said a source.

The message is a discount coupon, which can be used to make purchases at the shopping mall, pay food bills at the restaurant or conduct medical tests at the diagnostic centre.

“The administration is seeking support from other private units as well in the district. This will encourage more people to use the machines. Also, there is an option which anybody can choose if they decide not to avail any coupon,” the source added.

Those associated with the conservation of nature and working against increased pollution have welcomed the initiative.

“Environmental pollution is increasing every day, and one of the main reasons for such a rise is the indiscriminate disposal of plastic waste, both in rural and urban areas. We appreciate the initiative taken by the administration and hope people will opt for the scientific disposal of plastic bottles,” said Tuhin Subhra Mondal, a nature conservationist based in Balurghat.