West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday said the oceans today are facing a big threat from pollution with plastic pollution being a major issue.
Taking to her Twitter handle, Banerjee said, ” Today is World Oceans Day. The oceans today are facing a big threat from pollution, with plastic pollution being a major issue. Let us pledge to keep the oceans clean by limiting usage of pollution-causing substances and using environment-friendly products. ”
On this occasion, Nestle volunteers worldwide participated in clean-up drives.
In India around 2000 volunteers participated in this initiative which took place in towns near Nestlé India factory and branch locations. The volunteers included Nestlé India employees and their families, NGO partners, distribution partners, suppliers and officials.
Commenting on this unique volunteering initiative, Suresh Narayanan, Chairman and Managing Director, Nestlé India said, ‘World Oceans Day provides a unique opportunity to honor, help protect and conserve our natural resources. On a personal level, I have taken a pledge to reduce plastic waste in my office, home and wherever we as an organization can make a difference. Occasions like these enable us to educate and drive behaviour change across the organization as well as the people associated with it. ”
” I am humbled that our partners and colleagues have come together to act as eco-warriors to ensure our neighborhoods are free from the problem of plastic waste. ”
Adding to this, Dr. Kalyan Rudra, Chairman-West Bengal Pollution Control Board said, “This collaboration is a step towards reducing plastic waste in the city and we hope that we will be able to collectively make a significant impact in Kolkata over the next few years”.
Sandhya Srinivasan, Regional Director – East Region, Magic Bus Foundation added, ““We are glad to team up with Nestlé India for this clean-up drive that is a part of a larger global drive. Such drives reinforce amongst our children, young people, the communities and our society the importance of caring for our environment”.
At the clean-up drive, the volunteers were divided into different teams to ensure systematic collection of waste. At the end of the drive, the collected waste was sent to the processing facilities and disposed responsibly.
The volunteers in Kolkata participated in the clean-up drive at Choura Bustee, Howrah pledging their commitment to a plastic waste-free environment.
Nestlé India was supported at select locations by its implementation partners Magic Bus India Foundation and India Pollution Control Association (IPCA).
