PUNE: Aiming to minimise plastic waste at railway stations across the country, Indian Railways have initiated plans to install plastic bottle crushers at Pune junction. Besides Pune, Mumbai and Ahmedabad will also get such machines. For every bottle crushed, the passenger will get Rs 5 cash back in their Paytm wallet.
An officer from the Pune railway division, on condition of anonymity, said, “The service will be introduced soon as the railway board has already planned to install the machine. The initiative is a part of Indian Railway’s efforts to curb plastic pollution on its premises.”
Such machines have already been installed at Vadodara and Bengaluru railway stations on the World Environment Day.
Each machine costs an estimated Rs 4.5 lakh and has been designed in a manner that it will finely crush and turn the inserted bottle into fine pieces of plastic, rendering it more disposable. In addition, the cash back will encourage more and more people to use this service, the officer said.
“Every time a user enters his/her mobile number into the machine and inserts a plastic bottle in it, a cash back of Rs 5 will be credited to the individual’s Paytm wallet. The plan has also been implemented by the Bengaluru division,” said the officer. This will also ensure that plastic bottles are not dumped on railway tracks or stations premises. It is also an eco-friendly option to dispose of plastic bottles, the officer added.
