The Mumbai Port Authority has declared the Jawahar Dweep oil terminal plastic-free, making it the first terminal of its kind in India to completely eliminate single-use plastics. The announcement was made on 2 October, Mahatma Gandhi’s birth anniversary.
The terminal lies on an island about four kilometres off the Mumbai coast, has five jetties and handles crude oil and petroleum products supplying some of the country’s largest refineries.
The port had already banned several single-use plastics on its premises in 2021 and now wants to extend these measures to its docks, the residential areas it manages and coastal zones. New oil-spill response facilities were also opened at the same ceremony.
Ports Minister Sarbananda Sonowal said the example shows that Indian ports can grow while staying clean.
