OREANDA-NEWSOn Sunday, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi called on all citizens to start October 2, when the country will celebrate the 150th anniversary of the birth of the leader of the Indian national liberation movement, Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948), a massive campaign to combat disposable plastic products and waste from this material. He made a corresponding statement in a traditional radio message to the nation.

"This year we will celebrate Gandhi's birthday as the day India rid itself of plastic", Modi said. He noted that on October 2, the foundation will be laid for a “new revolution” against disposable plastic products that pollute the environment. The prime minister urged Indians to completely abandon the use of disposable plastic bags. He appealed to the heads of municipal administrations, environmental organizations and the corporate sector to help remove numerous plastic waste accumulated in cities before the Diwali festival, which the country will celebrate on October 27.

Modi also demanded that merchants and store owners provide customers with bags and bags made of materials that are environmentally friendly. According to experts, the use of disposable plastic bags is a serious environmental problem worldwide. At the end of last year, the International Monetary Fund indicated that by 2050 in the oceans of the planet "will accumulate more plastic than fish (in weight ratio)". This forecast caused great concern in the world, environmentalists in many countries have begun to insistently raise the issue of banning the use of plastic bags.

Bags made of this material are not only one of the most common, but also one of the most persistent types of garbage - in the soil their decay time is from 100 to 500 years. Particularly harmful such garbage affects the marine fauna: according to the international environmental organization Greenpeace, plastic accounts for more than 80% of the total volume of garbage in the World Ocean; more than a million seabirds, hundreds of thousands of animals die annually from the toxins contained in it.