UGC Bans Single-Use Plastic Across All Higher Educational Institutes

New Delhi: The University Grants Commission (UGC) has issued a communication prohibiting single-use-plastic in all higher educational institutions in the country.

Besides, it has shared a set of guidelines, asking the institutes to undertake a campaign in adopted villages under Unnat Bharat Abhiyan campaign till they become ‘plastic-free villages’.

The Guidelines are as follows:

1. Ban use of single-use plastics in canteens, shopping complexes in the institution’s
premises and hostels, etc.

2. Carry out awareness drives and sensitization workshops on the harmful impacts
of single-use plastics.

3. Mandate all students to avoid bringing non-bio-degradable plastic items to the
institution.

4. Encourage their students to sensitize their respective households about the harmful
effects of plastics and make their households ‘plastic-free’.

5. Install necessary alternative facilities like water units to avoid the use of plastic
water bottles, and encourage the use of alternative solutions like cloth bags, paper bags
etc., instead of plastic bottles, bags, covers and other goods on campuses.

The guidelines comes against the backdrop of Prime Minister Narendra Modi calling upon citiezens in his Independence Day speech to give up single-use plastic for a healthy environment.