Passengers flying through Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Thiruvananthapuram, Lucknow, Jaipur, Mangaluru, and Guwahati were greeted with joy. Their luggage tags were not ordinary paper tags; they were filled with seeds that could be planted!
Passengers flying through these seven airports in India received around 1,500 plantable baggage tags.
“Environmentalists have often said that one of the simplest ways to go green and save nature is to plant as many trees as possible,” said an Adani Airports Holdings Lt (AAHL) spokesperson. “This is why we decided to distribute plantable baggage tags were to all our airport users on the eve of World Environment Day. We also launched various other activities and initiatives to maximize awareness about the urgent need to protect the environment.”
The environmental-friendly baggage tags contain seeds of summer vegetables, such as green chillies, tomatoes, and brinjals, along with herbs such as basil and flowers like marigold. While the seeds are all organic, the sprouting rate of these plants, vegetables, and herbs is around 60-70 per cent. If all of them were planted and taken care of, every packet could sprout into 720 to 1,200 vegetable plants.
Often the packets in which such seeds are distributed are discarded after taking out the seeds. But the idea behind these special baggage tags is that the entire tag can be soaked in water and planted in the ground/soil, to create a resourceful and beautiful green garden.
The paper used in these tags is completely wood-free and is made using upcycled cotton scrap. The string is made from jute. Both these materials are easily and quickly biodegradable, lessening the waste dumped into the environment.
Also, since the colours used are aqueous, they do not harm the seeds, the soil, or the water even if the baggage tags are disposed of in case they are not planted.
In addition to plantable baggage tags, plants and seedlings were distributed in cotton bags to passengers arriving at the airport, along with specially made cotton bags that can be used while travelling.
More than 2,000 trees of approximately 20 different species were recently planted at the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport (SVPIA), Ahmedabad, to increase the airport’s green cover.