Sirmour (Himachal Pradesh): The famous Poly Bricks Campaign, which was launched by Himachal Pradesh's Sirmour District Administration, has found a place in the PMO Coffee Table Book.
According to Sirmour District Administration officials, this coffee table book will publish an article about poly bricks and regarding this, instructions have been given by the PMO to send the article on this environment campaign.
Envisioning an efficient solution to plastic waste management, Deputy Commissioner (DC) Sirmour, R.K. Pruthi initiated several creative ways to use the plastic waste that is accumulated daily in the district.
The ban on single-use plastic and polythene carry bags in the state strengthened Pruthi’s resolve and he launched a campaign to use plastic waste for making poly benches, poly toilets and in road building.
And now a new identity is going to be given at the national level for environmental protection by the Sirmaur district administration.
What are poly bricks?
The district administration started this initiative to make Sirmour district polyethene free. Under which, before the Corona period, polythene was collected on a large scale from all over the district. In which included schools, panchayats and voluntary organizations as well as government employees.
Under this campaign several tons of plastic was collected which was used to make bricks. These bricks are prepared by filling polythene into the plastic bottles.
Speaking to ETV Bharat, DC Sirmaur, Dr RK Paruthi said," Plastic waste has become a major headache for environmentalists, as there is still no method to destroy it scientifically. So, putting it to use appears to be the only option. As a large amount of plastic waste is generated on a daily basis, I decided to motivate everyone to collect poly packs, wrappers and plastic bottles. It will not only help in checking to litter but will also help in converting plastic waste into usable articles."
"The same discarded plastic is now being used to make poly bricks. Poly bricks are made by filling polythene in plastic bottles with the help of which many things can be made from boundary wall to bench and flower pot to poly toilet. Women of Sirmaur district and many self-help groups are contributing to this work," he said.
Earlier, Sirmour was selected for the Prime Minister's Public Service Excellence Award in September. As many as 958 applications were sent from all over the country under the environmental protection campaign.
The efforts in environmental protection by the poly bricks method to make Sirmour polyethene free was greatly appreciated by people.
Pruthi’s efforts did not cease here; his most innovative idea was the construction of a poly toilet where waste plastic bottles filled with plastic waste were lined up in a frame to form walls. This toilet designed and planned by Pruthi and fabricated by Ansari was constructed at a nominal cost of Rs 9,000.
The screening committee of the Government of India included Sirmour district among the top 12 districts at the national level. Sirmaur district was selected in the top 12 districts of the country in the Prime Minister Public Service Excellence Award 2020, Innovation category.
Now, all selected 12 DCs have got the opportunity to send articles related to their idea from the PMO.
An innovative campaign like this at the national level finds a place in the coffee table book of the PMO. In this coffee table book, there will also be an article on the poly bricks concept of Sirmour, in which detailed information about poly bricks will be given.
