Using plastic waste for afforestation

Aayushi Bansal
Amitsar, July 10

Environment conservation is almost everything for retired Brigadier Prakash Singh Bhatti. Known as one man army for his endless toil, Bhatti, in the field of environmental development, has earned himself a reputation. He has been connected with the UNO as well as several global NGOs for serving the Mother Nature for years.

Bhatti has been running a nursery for over two decades in the city where he has more than 4 lakh plants. He makes best out of waste as he uses discarded milk pouches to plant saplings. He has tied up with several shops and residents of the city, who, instead of throwing plastic waste, give milk pouches for plantation.

PS Bhatti says, “Earlier, we used to have plastic polythene for planting, but these didn’t last long. Also these were harmful for environment because of their non-biodegradable nature. One day I noticed that milk pouches are of good quality and also it is a unique way to use waste plastic into something useful.”

Discarded plastic instead of fresh plastic bags must be used in every nursery, he says. Saplings from his mini forest are being distributed to residents for free.

“Punjab is losing its green area. Being a nature lover, I find it my duty to work towards it. People are not much into planting these days and this is the reason behind scarcity of resources nowadays. If we go towards afforestation, most of the problems will be resolved. But youngsters don’t understand the value of the nature,” he rues.

Many of the plant species are on the verge of extinction in the region. Further, due to lack of vision on the part of the government, these trees are endangered species now. Ironically, the government has also failed to compensate the loss of green cover. Bhatti tries to plant every kind of tree in his nursery.