Awareness programme on plastic pollution held in Mokokchung

MOKOKCHUNG — A one-day awareness and training programme on plastic pollution, waste management, and segregation took place at Mokokchung Baptist Church on Tuesday.

The event was jointly organised by Mokokchung Senso Mungdang and the Women Ministry of Mokokchung Baptist Arogo, in collaboration with Young Women Christian Association (YWCA) Mokokchung.

LH Thangi Mannen, former Commissioner and Secretary to the Government of Nagaland and founder of Earth Alliance, delivered the keynote address on “Reducing plastic pollution in our daily life”.

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Citing over 16,000 chemicals in plastic production, including 4,200 hazardous ones, Mannen labelled today’s youth as “generation plastic”, exposed to toxins from birth.

Mannen urged a moral duty to protect the Earth through waste segregation at the source and reducing single-use and multi-layered plastics (MLPs), which are largely non-recyclable.

“Banning plastic isn’t enough; we need responsible waste management and sustainable alternatives,” she said, advocating for composting and pro-environment policies.

Adrian M Mahung, DMC Waste Management Environmental Consultant and Earth Alliance member, spoke on “Waste management: transforming waste into a resource”.

He highlighted India’s legacy waste crisis and proposed a year-long action plan for Mokokchung village, including awareness campaigns, two-bin systems, composting, recyclables collection, and zero-waste bazaars. Mahung called for a community-led landfill solution and resource recovery to turn waste into a valuable asset.

Sungtiyala Jamir, co-founder of Green Heap Enterprise, focused on home composting, noting Mokokchung town’s 13.5 metric tonnes of daily waste. She explained how composting reduces methane emissions and landfill burden, sharing a simple method using kitchen and garden waste.

Jamir highlighted Green Heap’s success in diverting 278 metric tonnes of organic waste from municipal landfills, encouraging households to adopt composting.