R.I.P Mr. Single Use Plastic
It is with great happiness we announce the death of SUPB (Single Use Plastic Bag) on January 1st, 2019 in Tamil Nadu. He was an inseparable part of our daily lives. Though immortal in nature, we bid him farewell because we were all irresponsible in his disposal and he found his way into the environment, polluting and poisoning it. He is survived by our children’s children, marine animals and the rivers and oceans of the earth.
May his soul biodegrade in peace.
Kindly post your farewell messages below in the comments section.
Plastic-Free Shopping Bag distribution at Kovai Pazhamudhir Nilayam, Chennai
Take the #iSayNoToPlastic pledge and receive the cloth bag at your doorstep (avail this before Jan 15, 2019).
Sharon Plywoods discourages Single-Use Plastic
Decomposition rates of Single-Use Plastic
Tamil Nadu pledges #iSayNoToPlastic
Plastic carry bags, plastic plates, plastic cups, plastic flags, small plastic sachets used in packaging water, among others, will be banned in Tamil Nadu from Jan 1st, 2019.
Based on the study and findings of an expert panel that the disposal of such plastic material affected the flow of waste water and drainage and deeply affected the ground water table, the TN state government has announced this ban. The ban includes manufacture, transport, supply and sale of these products.
Watch this video to know what is getting banned and how you can find alternatives for these items that are ubiquitous in our everyday usage.
Sharon Plywoods has been vociferously supporting elimination of Single-Use Plastic and has undertaken several awareness initiatives in this regard. We are very happy to note that the government of Tamil Nadu also joining with us in this social issue.
Star Students in Chennai take the pledge against Plastic Pollution
Star students Award 2018, held on 9th Dec 2018 at the Chinmaya Heritage Centre, Chennai was proudly sponsored by Sharon Plywoods in an effort to reach out to students and create awareness about #PlasticPollution.
*Plastic-Free School bag kits were given to all student award winners and the teachers and School Principals were all given the multi-purpose Shopping Bags. The award itself was given in recognition of multiple talents exhibited by school children.
All the students and the education fraternity present at the event took the pledge #iSayNoToPlastic along with Sharon Plywoods.
The awards ceremony was organized by Dream Concepts to recognize talent in young students and to inculcate in them the right spirit of competition and winning. The event was presided over by Rotarian P.D. Sriram (President, Rotary Club of Madras Downtown) and the guest of honour was Dr. V. Ponraj (Scientific Advisor to former President Dr A P J Abdul Kalam).
The theme of the event was “Say No to One-Time Plastic” and the students were given information regarding the dangers of Plastic Pollution and encouraged to do their bit to save our environment.
#iSayNoToPlastic at Committed Consumers Event
Akhil Bharatiya Grahak Panchayat (ABGP) is an all-India Consumer Movement started in September 1974, having branches in 36 States with 538 consumer awakening centres in 187 Districts. They have several victories to their credit in the field of Consumer Rights. ABGP celebrated a “Committed Consumers Meet” on December 2nd, 2018, at Meenakshi College for Women, Chennai. The Hon. Governor of Tamil Nadu, His Excellency Shri. Banwarilal Purohit, presided over the meet and felicitated important members.
Sharon Plywoods was very happy to be part of this Consumers’ meet and utilised this association to raise awareness about the menace of Single-Use Plastic. Over 400 attending delegates were each given a *Plastic-Free multi-purpose shopping bag and were encouraged to stay away from single-use plastic.
Some pictures from the event:
Social Media Contest & Giveaway
Saving Zoo Animals from Plastic Pollution
People’s propensity to discard plastic bags and other trash indiscriminately has serious consequences for animals everywhere and especially those in captivity. Sights like this can be seen in many zoos in India:
Instances of animals eating plastic bags and having health complications have happened several times. A spotted deer died at the Aringnar Anna Zoological Park, Vandalur, after eating enormous quantities of plastic which was discovered upon an autopsy. A Hippopotamus was found with a plastic bottle stuck in its teeth.
One of the common reasons cited by people for throwing trash everywhere has been that they do not have a bag to collect and throw the trash in a trash can. In order to make it easy for visitors to discard trash responsibly and to save the animals , Sharon Plywoods has been distributing paper bags at the entrance to the Aringnar Anna Zoological Park, Vandalur, for the past several years. Thousands of such bags have been distributed over the years and this has had a visible impact on the cleanliness of the zoo.
Sharon discourages single-use plastic and undertakes several social responsibility projects to create awareness about this and to encourage the habit of responsible plastic usage.
#isaynotoplastic campaign takes off at the Chennai Airport
Over half of the 300 million tonnes of plastic produced in the world, every year is discarded after a single-use. This creates an enormous environmental impact by getting into our drains and waterways, rivers and oceans.
To raise awareness about this menace and to discourage use of single-use plastic, Sharon Plywoods, in association with the Airports Authority of India, conducted a campaign at the Chennai Airport on Sunday 4th November 2018. They distributed gift hampers consisting of plastic-free grocery shopping bags, biodegradable cutlery, and clay diyas to 1000 passengers to arrive on the day. These shopping bags, with pockets to sort purchases, are environmentally friendly alternatives to the thin plastic covers and carry bags which get discarded after a single-use. Another 5000 passengers received cloth tote bags that could be used for shopping or storage.
Mr. P K Srivastava, General Manager (OPS), and Mr. Nanda Kumar – DGM (OPS), Airports Authority of India, Chennai, inaugurated the campaign. The activity was received with enthusiasm by the travellers. This is what one of the passengers, Mr. Krishnan, had to say – “It was a pleasant surprise to receive this gift from Sharon Plywoods. Although we know about the dangers of plastic usage, never really gave a thought about taking a reusable shopping bag. Will certainly start using this bag from now on”.
Teaching children to avoid Single-Use Plastic
On the auspicious day of Vijayadasami (Oct 19, 2018), 1650 students of Madanlal Khemani Vivekananda Vidyalaya, Gummidipundi, were given Plastic Free School Bag Kits. This Plastic Free School Bag Kit contained a steel lunch box, a steel water bottle, a steel spoon and a steel fork. This was a small effort to inculcate the habit of choosing non-plastic items in their everyday lives.
Though plastic is a wonderful material that has made our lives easier, the irresponsible use and disposal has created a monster of a problem that affects the environment and our lives. The world is currently producing nearly 300 million tons of plastic every year. Half of this plastic is used only once.
SHARON PLYWOODS also distributed colourful non-plastic reusable shopping bags among the teachers of the school. This shopping bag is an environmental friendly alternative to the rather dangerous plastic covers and carry bags which are probably used only once. These bags come with pockets to sort the purchases.
Being a plywood company, there is this common belief that we cut down trees. In fact, the use of SHARON PLYWOODS’ products brings down the use of prime wood in interiors and furniture. SHARON PLYWOODS saves upto 95% Prime Wood.
Sharon Plywoods through many such environmentally responsible initiatives have been setting an example of a socially responsible corporate citizen that many other corporates can emulate.
SHARON PLYWOODS discourages Single Use Plastic.
GALLERY
