This ‘Eco-Logical’ wedding to shun plastic, nourish life

Surat: Prateek Patel and Maitree Chaudhary want the wedding not to be just their first step towards a new world, but one that will take them to an environmentally safe future. And so, On May 22, when they tie the knot in Vadodara, the bridegroom wants to usher in the green beginnings by shunning single-use plastic items from the wedding event.
“On an average, a marriage event generates approximately 500kg of single-use plastic — a non-biodegradable item that remains in earth’s ecosystem for hundreds of years damaging the environment.Maitree and I are both nature enthusiasts and also wanted to send a message through our wedding,” Prateek Patel, an entrepreneur, and innovator told TOI. “We have found alternatives for every single-use plastic material used in a wedding and these are cost-effective too. We will serve water in 4,000 glass water bottles which will be gifted to the guests to inspire them to quit the use of single-use plastic. We have also purchased compostable carry bags made from corn starch, while food will be served in ceramic bowls and cups and not thermocol and plastic items,” he said.
And that’s not all. The couple-to-be has also decided not to announce their union by firing the polluting firecrackers. Instead, cold pyro will be used in the celebration.
“It will be a big event for our life and through this, we would like to tell our guests that we too can adopt sustainable life at individual levels in our most precious life events such as weddings,” the groom added.