Visakhapatnam: Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy on Friday announced that Andhra Pradesh will become a plastic-free state by 2027.
He was addressing an event held here for the signing of an MoU with Parley for the Oceans, a member of the Global Alliance for a Sustainable Planet (GASP), on the setting up of the country’s first plastic recycling and up-cycling plant in Visakhapatnam.
Jagan said this was the first step towards achieving the target of making a ‘Plastic-free AP’ by 2027.
The agreement with Parley would bring investments of Rs 16,000 crore in the next six years and generate direct and indirect employment for more than 20,000 youths, he said.
Jagan said that on the first day, the programme saw the use of flexies made of cloth instead of plastic. Sea plants provide 70 per cent of the oxygen the humans breathe and this underscored the need to protect marine species from plastic, he said.
“So, once the plant is set up in Vizag, Parley will remove the plastic waste from sea, recycle it and make products like shoes and goggles out of it,” the CM said and showed the audience a set of goggles made of plastic.
Municipal administration and urban development Minister Suresh and Parley founder Cyrill Gutsch signed the MoU in the presence of the CM.
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