Like all the great cities of the world, New Delhi, with its population of 15 million, is faced with the urgent and difficult challenge of caring for the environment. The Indian government and private enterprise have been working together on this task for some time, and the Maiestas Foundation has now joined forces with them in the “Plastic Free Delhi” project.

According to official data (Delhi Human Development Report, 2006), around 20% of the waste produced in Delhi is not collected by the urban waste disposal service. Plastic materials, particularly non-degradable polyethylene bags, have been estimated to account for 6% of the waste generated every day. This situation presents a genuine threat to the environment, and to the population's quality of life.

“Say no to plastic bags”, “Keep Delhi clean”, “Keep Delhi green”, are some of the slogans to be seen around the streets and in the media, as part of the campaigns organized by the government and by residents' associations. 

In this context, the Maiestas Foundation is now taking part in the “Plastic Free Delhi” campaign, alongside other organizations in India.

The idea is a simple and practical one: trying to replace some of the plastic bags that are normally used for shopping -  and then thrown away - with durable, biodegradable bags made of jute. So how is this going to be put into practice?

In the first phase of the project, campaigns organized in schools across the city will get the schoolchildren themselves to raise people's consciousness of the dangers of irresponsible consumption that damages the environment. Around 25 thousand bags made of jute, a cheap, natural fiber which is completely biodegradable, will be given out to the children so that they can encourage their parents to use them instead of plastic bags when they go shopping. 

In the second phase of the project, the jute bags will be available in shops, as an alternative to plastic ones.  

As well as providing a good example and helping the environment directly, the project will also provide social benefits for the impoverished rural population, since the jute bags will be made by women who live in poor areas of the countryside. They will be trained and given the necessary materials. The salary which they receive for this will make a contribution to their limited family budgets.   

This is a small step on the road to solving environmental problems in general, and the challenges faced by a city like Delhi in particular. Just one small step. But it is also an important step which we in Maiestas want to help people to make.