The government in Nagaland has banned the use of flex banners, boards, posters by departments, institutions, government agencies in government offices during functions with immediate effect.

They have also notified the Urban Development department stating that the ban was in pursuance to the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Government of India order dated February 13, 2020.

The flex banner, boards and posters are made from Poly-Vinyl-Chlorides (PVC), which is a plastic polymer. It is a non-biodegradable material and when burnt it releases harmful toxins and gets bio-accumulated in the food chain of the ecosystem causing serious hazards to human health and environment.

This ban encourages people to find alternative and eco-friendly materials such as cloth banners, lightweight textile fabrics, wrinkle-resistant wrap knit, natural-fibre based sandwich boards, resin-infused papers, particle boards, etc to fight the plastic pollution in the state.

The state government has informed all AHoDs/ HoDs to disseminate its directive to all the district offices/institutions/agencies for strict compliance.