The issue

Today, we produce about 300 million tonnes of plastic waste every year. That's nearly equivalent to the weight of the entire human population. We are all aware of the negative impacts of this waste. 5.25 lakh crore pieces of plastic waste is estimated to be in our oceans currently - choking our fishes, turtles, whales - destroying the rich marine life. Animals, plants, the earth, water, land, all suffer from this 'plastic pandemic'.

This warrants a thorough search of, and action against, various human activities that cause plastic to end up in our oceans and soils. While policies to discourage its use have been made, a long-ignored source of this waste continues to pollute our earth: the hospitality industry. An estimate puts the number of plastic items used at an average hotel at over 300 per day - 1,09,500 plastic items in the ocean each year, that too, by a single hotel or restaurant! This over-use, however, is due to a fault not entirely their own. In fact, the GST (Goods and Services Tax) on plastic used by the industry is 5%, while that on bagasse, a biodegradable material, is a whopping 18%, as set by the Indian government. It is, thus, obvious that they would prefer to use plastic over non-biodegradable alternatives to increase their profits, greatly contributing to the world's annual waste. 

The solution

CreateAble proposes a very simple solution: the increase in GST on plastic, along with the reduction of that on biodegradable materials. This would encourage restaurants and hotels to reduce usage of plastic and look for eco-friendly alternatives. 

However, CreateAble needs your help - in signing this petition for the pragmatic taking up and implementation of this solution by the government. 

We need your help to change the law. 

We need your help to save the environment. 

Sign the petition now.