Single-use food and beverage packaging accounts for 84% of Himalayan plastic garbage.

• The Zero Waste Himalaya Alliance reports that single-use food and beverage packaging constitutes over 84% of plastic waste in the eco-sensitive Himalayan region.

• About 70% of plastics collected from Ladakh to Arunachal Pradesh are non-recyclable.

• The alliance, initiated by Zero Waste Himalaya and Integrated Mountain Initiative, has been spearheading The Himalayan Cleanup (THC), a major movement against plastic pollution in the Indian Himalayan region since 2018.

• The alliance emphasizes the need for systemic, policy-level interventions and a shift away from centralised, extriactive waste systems.

• A 2018 waste collection exercise was conducted at over 250 sites, with Sikkim generating the most trash items.