No plastic bottles in Sikkim from New Year 2022

The tourism board of Sikkim has announced to ban single-use plastic including packaged water from New Year 2022. As per a senior tourism official, Sikkim tourism has joined the state government’s campaign of banning plastic in the region. The ban will be implemented everywhere in the state strictly.

Marcus P Rai, Joint Secretary, Tourism & Civil Aviation department said that the government will offer organic and biodegradable options. “We are encouraging villagers to mass-produce bottles from bamboo and other biodegradable materials,” he said.
There are homestays in Sikkim which are tourists’ favorites. All the homestays have been asked to follow the ban strictly. For those who don’t know, the northeast state of Sikkim has the highest numbers of registered homestays in India. There are 915 registered homestays in Sikkim alone!

Rai further stated that the tourism department is encouraging homestays as they offer authentic village experiences. “We ask them not to go overboard with facilities in the name of guest facilities which ultimately will dilute the authentic village experiences”.
In 1998, Sikkim became the first state in India to ban plastic carry bags.