Union minister launches campaign to promote reuse and recycle of old clothes, toys

New Delhi, May 15 (PTI) Union Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Monday launched a campaign — “Meri LiFE, Mera Swachh Shehar” — to promote reuse and recycle of old items such as clothes, shoes, toys and books, according to an official statement.

According to the statement, urban India is increasingly adopting the principles of making wealth from waste with citizens actively refurbishing old items for reuse. This is giving an impetus to the overall zero-waste ecosystem under the Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban 2.0.

This nationwide campaign aims to highlight cities to set up “reduce, reuse, recycle (RRR) centres” — one-stop centres for citizens to contribute clothes, shoes, old books, toys and used plastic to be reused or recycled.

“This three-week campaign will strengthen citizen’s resolve under SBM-U 2.0 to reduce, reuse and recycle and will also champion Mission LiFE’s objective of taking collective action for the protection and conservation of the environment by adopting sustainable daily habits,” the ministry said.

The ministry said that reuse or upcycling of common household goods has been an integral part of Indian culture.

Taking a cue from this shared habit, the minister launched the “Meri LiFE, Mera Swachh Shehar” campaign to champion waste management principles of reduce, reuse and recycle, the statement stated.

The RRR centres are scheduled to be launched nationwide on May 20 and will serve as a one-stop solution for citizens, institutions and commercial enterprises to deposit unused or used plastic items, clothes, shoes, footwear, books, and toys.

After collection, these items will be given to different stakeholders to be refurbished for reuse or would be made into new products, thus truly taking forward the government’s vision of a circular economy, the ministry added.