Kurukshetra: The Election Commission has banned the use of plastic and polythene for the preparation of posters and banners by parties and their nominees during the election campaign. All presidents and secretaries of recognised parties have been directed to follow the directions strictly.

Shimla: Himachal Pradesh today cleared a proposal to start a pilot project adopting at least 11 road projects in the state, where waste plastic bags will be used in the construction of roads.

Thousands of families in the Southern province depending on the coir industry have lost their livelihood due to the shortage of coconut husks.

They said the fragmentation of coconut estates as housing blocks and tsunami sites has resulted in this state of affairs and that the devastation caused by the tsunami further aggravated the situation.

While noting that the ultimate solution to the environmental damage caused by non-biodegradable plastic bags is to introduce bags made of biodegradable materials, Sindh Minister for Environment and Alternative Energy Askari Taqvi said on Thursday that a

Moti Jheel, which used to be a pride of Lucknow, seems to have lost its natural glory. The waterbody has been gobbled up by land grabbers, thanks to the ignorance on the part of Lucknow Municipal Corporation (LMC).

Presently, the lake houses several snacks and plastic factories, godown apart from a number of residential establishments.

Quiet flows the Tawi, ignored and much abused by city residents.

Untouched by the humdrum of the 15th Lok Sabha elections, the river, where folklore says goats and tigers drank water together from it, is one of the most polluted water bodies now.

Taking a step forward in rooting out polythene from the Kashmir valley, Green Dream, a group of young professionals and students, visited the Jamia Masjid area and appealed to traders there to avoid polythene in their daily operations.

Green Dream members Khurram Wani, Kaunsar Bhat, Mehboob Jeelani and others asked traders to make alternative arrangements instead of using polythene.

We all use plastic bags because we find them durable, multi-purpose and cost-effective. However, most of us are not aware of the perils of indiscriminate use of plastic.

Just think of how many plastic bags you have used and thrown in the last one year.

The amount of litter dumped on beaches across Britain has more than doubled in the last 15 years to its highest ever level, endangering the health of wildlife and humans, according to a survey on Wednesday.

The Marine Conservation Society (MCS) said its beachwatch 2008 annual survey had found an average of 2,195 items of litter per kilometer of beach, a rise of 110 percent since 1994.

The government launched a campaign on Tuesday to get the public to reuse carrier bags, saying each shopper got through 13,000 bags in a lifetime.

"We simply can't continue using the billions of new plastic bags we do each year, it's such a huge waste and a visible symbol of our throwaway society," said Environment Minister Jane Kennedy.