AP bans vinyl banners

The Andhra Pradesh government on Friday banned the use of vinyl banners across the state, as part of the drive against plastic.

Instead, cloth banners should be used to protect the environment, Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy said.

The Chief Minister launched a massive beach cleaning programme here in partnership with US-based Parleys for Oceans.

''Our endeavour is to make Andhra Pradesh plastic-free by 2027. Ban on vinyl banners is the first step in that direction,'' the Chief Minister said.

Though costly, he suggested use of cloth banners for a safe environment.

Jagan Mohan Reddy said the ban on plastic use in temple-town Tirumala-Tirupati was yielding good results as people shifted to the use of cloth bags.

The state government signed a memorandum of understanding with Parleys for Oceans and Global Alliance for Sustainable Planet for an action programme toward environment conservation.

Parleys for Oceans spearheaded the beach cleaning drive, touted as the biggest such exercise in the world, and cleaned up 72 tonnes of plastic waste on a 23-km stretch along the Bay of Bengal from Visakhapatnam to Bhimili.