India consumes an estimated 16.5 million tonnes of plastic annually. Of this, 43% of plastic is manufactured for single-use packaging that mostly finds its way into garbage bins.

At this time, when the entire country is struggling to deal with the menace of plastic waste, a small village in Sikkim has shown the will to ban single-use plastic.

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According to a report by BBC, Lachung, a small village in Sikkim doesn’t allow tourists to carry single-use plastic into the village.

This campaign is being run almost entirely by locals and cab drivers who make sure that people do not pollute the village with plastic waste.

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This tiny Himalayan village is also a popular tourist spot. But tourism didn’ t come easy to it. It brought a lot of plastic waste along.

Three years ago, locals of the village decided to frame a law and ban the use of single-use plastic. The villagers not only confiscate any plastic items carried by tourists, but is also leading the way in using biodegradable items back home.

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The locals don’t just throw away all the confiscated plastic bottles. They try to reuse them in whatever way possible.

And if tourists insist on using single-use plastic bottles despite the ban, they are fined by the locals.

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This is the kind of attitude change we need all over the country to tackle the problem of single-use plastic.

You can watch the BBC video here.