The New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) launched a ‘Plastic Lao — Mask Pao’ campaign on Tuesday at Charkha Museum in Connaught Place. The campaign also highlights the role of the public in the waste value chain to move towards responsibility driven society by encouraging segregation of plastic waste.

The initiative was launched in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) where citizens can come and deposit their plastic waste in exchange for masks.

The campaign was inaugurated by Vijay Kumar Dev, Chief Secretary of Delhi in the presence of Dharmendra, Chairperson of NDMC, Dr B M Mishra, Secretary of NDMC and Prabhjot Sodhi, head-circular economy of UNDP.

Dev applauded the initiative, saying that this is a unique campaign to encourage the Covid-19 appropriate behaviour and also to curb pollution simultaneously. The Chief Secretary further highlighted the need of wearing a mask, hand sanitization and social distancing to safeguard the public from covid infections. He also emphasized to be cautious while attending marriage functions.

As part of the campaign, a mini collection centre has been set up in the premises of Charkha Museum, Connaught Place to promote responsible use of plastic and its disposal. The visitors are encouraged to bring waste plastic products and exchange the same for reusable cloth masks, and also take a pledge (#Pledge4Change) to become responsible citizens for a sustainable future, a senior official said.

The mini collection centre will be operative on all days from 11:00 am to 5:00 pm with a whole range of community engagement activities including participation of schools, colleges and commercial establishments, he added.

The campaign’s goal is to ensure around five tonnes of plastic waste is recovered from our streets by responsibly recycling with better economic and social outcomes for safai sevak and better environmental outcomes for Delhi, he said.