Use of Plastic Bottles in the place like Goa which is one of the major tourist destinations in the country needs to stop as the plastic is a big threat to the environment and to take the first step towards it the Goa Tourism Development Corporation has announced that they will be scrapping the use of all plastic materials, such as plastic bottles, Straws and Cups in its headquarters as well its hotels (GTDC Residencies) across the state. with the new development in place within the time of three months, all the GTDC residencies and its head office will be made plastic-free zone.
According to the sources in GTDC, The Hon’ble Chairman of GTDC, Mr Dayanand Sopte said, “This decision will go a long way in contributing towards environment protection and in reducing plastic waste which has become a bane in the State. Growing plastic waste is a major concern and it is important to keep our environment plastic-free.”
No More Use of Plastic Bottles
This decision was taken at a recently held GTDC Board meeting where henceforth water, tea, coffee, etc will be served in cups of paper or glass. Water dispensers, water filters will be installed at the tourism head office and residencies. Water will be served in metal or glass bottles which will be re-fillable.
Speaking further on this initiative, Mr Sopte said “We at GTDC have taken on this campaign from the head office first and all our residencies will execute this within the next three months so that we can play a significant role in the endeavour to conserve the environment. This decision of banning the use of plastic items will help towards creating an environmentally sustainable tourism sector.”
Plastic bottles are amongst the major plastic items used in the tourism industry and they alone contribute to over 20 per cent of plastic pollution in the oceans. GTDC’s residencies across the State will phase out the use of plastic bottles, plastic cups, and straws in the next three months.
According to Mr Sopte, once the goal is achieved at home more hotels and resorts will be roped into this campaign and it will be implemented on a larger platform involving the tourism stakeholders and other partners in the hospitality sector.
Image Source: NDTV
