5 countries, 10,000 km, 1 bike, 1 goal: beat plastic pollution

We made plastic, and now we are drowning in it. To take action and spread awareness about plastic pollution, I will set off on a solo motorcycle journey, covering more than 10,000 km from New Delhi through northeast India and across 5 countries --- Nepal, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos and Cambodia --- to raise awareness about the hazard of single-use disposable plastic on environment and human food chain. Across many countries in South East Asia - including India, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar - there is a lack of education and awareness about waste management. 

Much like India, waste management in these countries is a big issue. If we don't reduce our consumption of plastic and shift to more sustainable alternatives, we might just lose our planet to plastic.

During the journey, I will participate in several city cleanup initiatives across northeast India and Southeast Asia, in association with schools; and volunteer with NGOs who are raising awareness on the effects of plastic consumption on our health and environment. The idea is to exchange information with these countries and learn the best practices about plastic waste reduction. I will aim to teach school kids a module on waste segregation, the most neglected part of the chain.

I am a motorcycle enthusiast who has toured north India extensively and written about climate change and pollution in remote regions of India. I believe there isn’t a better time than right now to undertake such a task as this year India was the global host of the World Environment Day. Such an undertaking, at this time, can add more momentum to the efforts at beating plastic pollution. My tagline will be ‘Reduce, reuse, and recycle’.  

Fuel, accommodation and bike maintenance are the basic costs of this journey, but can add up to a lot. Besides, bike paperwork, including permits and visas of various countries are also key costs involved. If this story resonates with you, do make your contribution to fund this unique initiative.