Rajeshwari Singh On World Environment Day: Plastic Is Strangling Our Planet

We are forever indebted to nature as it has been keeping us alive for generations now. Hence, there lies an inherent responsibility towards nature. World Environment is one such day that is observed annually on 5 June to remind us all of our duty towards nature.

World Environment Day is led by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and held annually since 1973. This year’s host is Côte d'Ivoire in partnership with the Netherlands and the theme is ‘Solutions to plastic pollution’.

It is a reminder that people’s actions on plastic pollution matter. The steps governments and businesses are taking to tackle plastic pollution are the consequence of this action.

When we talk about preserving nature, there are countless hurdles but one of the most dangerous and hazardous is the use of plastic. But there are also some heroes out there who are trying to do their bit and are sworn on to protect the environment. One such hero is Rajeshwari Singh from Vadodara, Gujarat who started her journey way back but her long walk of 1100 km in 2018 from Vadodara to Delhi was a milestone when she decided to walk the distance to spread awareness of plastic pollution.

In an interview with us, she discusses her love for nature, why she chose to walk the long distance and her work at the zero waste store Zeroite.

Rajeshwari Singh interview

Singh said she realised her love for nature during her time at boarding school days in Rajasthan, Mount Abu. “I have been brought up amidst nature and we never used plastic and used to walk wherever we had to go. In school, we were taught sitting under a mango tree two days a week, and that's why the connection with nature grew from childhood”.

Prior to her walk, she used to work in the media and radio industry. But while working and seeing the soaring changes in temperature she realised that now is the time she need to take some action on her own. “Campaigning was always somewhere in the back of my mind. Then I came to know that India has got a chance to host world environment day so I thought I should be a part of it so that I can connect with people on the ground level in villages, metro and this will give me a chance to know different people and localities and I will be able to convey my message to others. I was walking every day in 40-45 degrees. There were many challenges indeed but my willpower was so strong”.

Rajeshwari’s walk theme was “My Waste, My Responsibility”. Her aim was simple: to create awareness among the people she meets en route to stop the use of plastic and to use this opportunity to raise funds for her own organisation. She walked with a total of 0% pollution, avoiding any type of plastic packaged food, drinks or even water. For her walk, she was supported by Gujarat tourism and the UN environment.

Through her walk she made connections and people started trusting her. She did not want to stop her journey just yet so during COVID she chalked out her next plan and in 2022 launched an E-COMMERCE/Online store of one of a kind in Vadodara and named it Zeroite.

Zeroite, eco-space is Gujarat’s first zero-waste store and cafe, filled with sustainable eco-friendly organic products. The store has a refill station where people can come with their bags and refill the daily ration like pulses, shampoo, oil etc. Also, the store sells many sustainable and organic products like soaps, neem combs, bamboo toothpaste and so on. The whole idea behind this is to make sure that plastic is totally out of your life so that everyone can contribute to saving the planet from this dangerous and non-biodegradable product.

Rajeshwari says that we human beings are the most evolved species so our responsibility doubles. But, at the pace of development, we have ignored our own planet. She says “If you want to live a sustainable life, then all you have to do for starters is to observe. After waking up in the morning till sleeping at night, notice that how much garbage you have thrown and how much biodegradable was in it. Try and use local and desi products for your day-to-day life”.

She adds, “Just think that the house you live in is your universe and every day you are filling garbage in it. A point will come when you will start feeling ugly so much so that you would want that garbage out of your place at any cost immediately. About 50 Billion tons of plastic waste has ended up in the natural environment and most of it will forever stay there. Now think, this is actually what we are doing to the earth. We are just feeding the most dangerous and non-biodegradable product to our planet and strangling it”.

The world is being inundated by plastic. More than 400 million tonnes of plastic is produced every year, half of which is designed to be used only once. Of that, less than 10 per cent is recycled. An estimated 19-23 million tonnes end up in lakes, rivers and seas. Today, plastic clogs our landfills leaches into the ocean and is combusted into toxic smoke, making it one of the gravest threats to the planet.

We have to stop being selfish and believe in co-existence. Only then we can survive. Remember you are not just killing yourself; you are killing the whole planet. Now is the time when we all have to BEAT PLASTIC POLLUTION.

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