This year’s World Environment Day, as many of colleagues might already know, focuses on ending plastic pollution, says Balakrishna Pisupati, Country Director, United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP, India).
He observes that this is a continuation of several years of effort—not just by UNEP but also by governments and various other agencies—towards reducing plastic use, plastic waste, and its associated pollution.
He recalls that the 2019 Environment Day had the theme “Beat Plastic Pollution” and points out how the conversation has since evolved—from beating to ending plastic pollution. According to him, awareness about the issue has grown significantly, not just in India but across the globe, with the public increasingly recognising the dangers posed by plastics.
Innovation abounds
Pisupati expresses that a number of promising innovations have emerged recently in plastic waste management. What continues to surprise observers from outside India, he believes, is the sheer diversity and creativity present within the country. This is something, he says, people within India sometimes fail to appreciate.
He highlights how a wide variety of interventions are now taking place, also in terms of the range of stakeholders involved. However, he acknowledges that this creativity needs to be backed by investment if innovations are to make real-world impact—whether in the market, consumer choices, or behavioural shifts.
Private sector role
He considers the role of the private sector as both significant and evolving. Pisupati remarks that industry has been relatively forward-looking in India, and this is an encouraging trend, especially as several companies are coming together in collaborative efforts.
He indicates that the current focus is twofold: one, how the private sector can support smaller stakeholders who may lack the capacity to invest but are nonetheless crucial to the effort; and two, how to reduce the cost of interventions to make them more widely accessible and appealing to the average consumer.
Key takeaways
When asked to highlight three key aspects of plastic pollution, Pisupati first emphasises the urgent need to de-addict from plastics. He stresses the importance of detoxifying our lives of this dependence.
Secondly, he points to the power of small, incremental lifestyle changes that individuals can easily adopt—such as refusing to buy or use plastic water bottles. These small steps, he believes, collectively have the potential to make a substantial difference.
Finally, he underscores that this must become a citizen-led movement. While acknowledging the industry’s responsibility, he argues that consumer choices will ultimately shape industry behaviour. For this reason, he maintains that behavioural change at the citizen level is essential to achieving real progress.
