Emphatically say 'no' to plastic: Supreme Court judge Justice UU Lalit

Supreme Court judge and Executive Chairperson of the National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) Justice UU Lalit on Thursday exhorted citizens to reduce and reuse plastic items so as to safeguard the environment. .Management of plastic, the judge said, must be based on four 'R's - reuse, recycle, reduce and refuse."It is only the force of citizenry, it is only the force of the population, it is only the wisdom of the entire nation, which will determine what shall be the profile when it is we say no to plastics, we must say emphatically, 'no' to plastic," he urged. Justice Lalit was speaking as the chief guest at the the Legal Services Programme (part of NALSA New Module Campaign) organised by District Legal Services Authority, Vishakhapatnam under the aegis of NALSA and the guidance of Andhra Pradesh State Legal Services Authority.The program was held at the AU Convention Centre, Vishakhapatnam on the topic 'Say No To Plastics, Save Environment and Issues Relating To Unorganised Labour'..In his address, Justice Lalit emphasised that NALSA is not only determined to provide legal aid, but is also entrusted with protection of environment by the way of legal education.Legal education must also include modules on environment protection along with the legal aid, he underlined. .He recounted his childhood days when his mother used to get the milk delivered in glass bottles which were replaceable while today’s generation sees milk being delivered in plastic bags or containers..He also commented about the use of one-time plastic syringes by the medical professional instead of glass-made syringes which can be reused. .On reduction of usage of plastic, Justice Lalit gave examples of two major campaigns - Polio Eradication Campaign and No Smoking Campaign. They were successful and made a significant impact because they were societal driven campaigns, inclusive of advertisement, public awareness and education of the masses about the issues, the judge opined. .Justice Lalit also reminded the audience of three significant legal principles evolved by courts - polluter's pay principle, inter-generational equity principle and the principle laid down in Vellore Citizen's Council Case. "The third principle is actually referred to as Vellore Citizen’s Council, that to the extent possible given the circumstances, in environmental law, we must err to the safer side that given the options we can’t be adventurist, we will rather be conservative and err on the side which is the safer side," he stated. .Justice Lalit gave the example of Kudremukh Iron Ore case to highlight the approach to be adopted when it comes to environmental law - that when you are in doubt, err on the safer side. .The judge also appreciated the efforts of the National Green Tribunal in introducing the principle of Extended Producer’s Responsibility (EPR), which casts the burden on the shoulders of the producers of products to guarantee that the product is degradable. "We have new rules which are supposed to come into effect from 1st July that single use plastic would be banned. The rules were promulgated in October. Sufficient time was given to the manufacturers because there are beautiful judgments from the National Green Tribunal which has actually put the responsibility on the manufacturer to say that the product that he is manufacturing is capable of getting degraded or it is not going to be a menace in case it is not recycled, on what is called Extended Producer’s Responsibility (EPR),"the judge said.