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Madhuvanthi Rajkumar, Researcher

Evaluating the efficacy of the Meendum Manjappai campaign

This report details CAG's findings on the impact of the Meendum Manjappai campaign on both consumers and vendors, with the study covering eight districts in Tamil Nadu. Meendum Manjappai is a flagship campaign of the Government of Tamil Nadu which promotes the use of cloth bags, thus reducing the reliance on single-use plastic (SUP) carry bags in the state.

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Multistakeholder forum on Sustainable production and consumption

The need for climate action becomes urgent with every passing second we go on about business as usual. It is high time we rethink and reshape the way we produce and consume in this day and age. CAG organised a Multistakeholder Forum on Sustainable Production and Consumption in Chennai on 23 and 24 March. The discussions over the course of two days have been compiled into this report with recommendations for the way forward.

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Microwave safe plastics - How safe are they?

Imagine it’s a cosy Sunday and you are waking up late after a well-deserved sleep-in. You don’t feel like cooking and you remember that you still have plenty of leftovers from ordering in on Saturday night. Feeling relieved that you only have to heat up the food, you pull out the take-out boxes of food from your refrigerator and you are ready to toss it in your microwave, thinking to yourself, “Thank God for technology!”. But the responsible adult in you pops up asking you to check if the plastic takeout box is safe to use in the microwave oven.

What’s the status of the UN treaty to end plastic pollution?

The Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC), under the United Nations Environment Programme, met in Nairobi on November 13-19 for its third round of negotiations to develop an international legally binding instrument to end plastic pollution worldwide. Under the UNEA Resolution 5/14, the INC is responsible for delivering a global plastics treaty by 2025.

Global Plastics Treaty is the GPT you should look out for

The acronym ‘GPT’, popularised by ChatGPT, is a widely used term nowadays in the context of an ‘ask me anything’ invitation - an AI algorithm which can clear bar exams, write your resumes, create music, do your homework, etc. But there is another GPT which you ought to know, as terrestrial beings wading your daily lives through a sea of plastic (literally and metaphorically). GPT stands for Global Plastics Treaty, a historic endeavour which aims to create an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution, including in the marine environment.

Environmental protection needs more than just the pure sciences and scientists

 The Indian Environmental Protection Act, 1986, states that the term ‘environment’ includes water, air and land and the inter-relationship which exists among and between water, air and land, and human beings, other living creatures, plants, micro-organisms and property. The word ‘inter-relationship’ plays a key role in our understanding of the environment.