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Use cloth bags to grow saplings

Plastic covers which get discarded after the planting of the saplings continue to pile
up, negating one of the very ideals of World Environment Day.

Published: 05th June 2018 01:44 AM  |  

Last Updated: 05th June 2018 01:44 AM   |   A+ A  A-

Eighty-four-year-old Ayyappan is unaware of the harmful effects of plastic, yet he makes a living by collecting plastic
bottles that get washed ashore. A scene from Veli in Thiruvananthapuram.‘Beat Plastic Pollution’ is the theme for this
year’s World Env

By Aathira Haridas
Express News Service

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Every year World Environment Day sees crores of plant

saplings being distributed and planted across Kerala. But along with the countless
saplings that get planted, there is a consistent increase in the amount of plastic
waste. Plastic covers which get discarded after the planting of the saplings
continue to pile up, negating one of the very ideals the day is all about.
So picture this. How about just tucking in the sapling in the earth, no plastic covers
to discard. All one needs to do is slide the sapling into the freshly dug pit and never
worry about the plastic cover that the sapling is packaged in. Handicrops, a firm
composed of differently abled individuals has crafted just the need of the hour.
They have fashioned out cloth bags which can be used to not just grow the saplings
but these can be placed as such to the earth. And they just merge and disintegrate
into the earth, becoming one with it.

“Every year we celebrate World Environment Day by planting crores of saplings.

Imagine the amount of trash we are generating. This is our effort to counter the
rising plastic waste,” says Handicrops chairperson Lekha S Kumar. The idea
stemmed from the collective when they decided to address the issue. “When we are
trying to celebrate the environment, why not do it in a nature friendly manner.
Using the cloth bags, these plastic bags can be replaced,” she adds.

At present two units of the Handicrops are involved in making these cloth bags.
The 5x3 inch compact bags are pegged at Rs 4 each. For trees that grow quickly, all
one needs to do is tear off the bottom part of the cloth cover. Ever since the team
began to craft such bags, there has been a huge demand. “The demand is mostly
from nurseries which are committed to the environment. They have started using
these cloth bags and the feedback has been great. We hope to approach the
government so that this can be implemented from next year,” she says.

There is also a huge demand for grow bags made from cloth. The cloth material
used for this is different. For grow bags we use sturdy and thick cotton while soft,
pure cotton is being used to make the bags for saplings, Lekha adds.  If made on a
larger scale, this environment-friendly alternative can counter the waste that piles
up. Lekha feels the Forest Department should adopt this without any delay.

‘Nothing done to preserve nature’

Environmentalists say, other than planting saplings again and again in pits every
year on Environment Day, nothing is being done by the authorities concerned to
preserve nature. Among their complaints is that people’s representatives,
celebrities and others who plant saplings at various places on June 5 do not even
ensure those plants are being taken care of.

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