Are your firecrackers really ‘green’? With low awareness among sellers and residents, regulations around eco-friendly fireworks remain largely on paper rather than in practice.
Nearly a dozen residents The Hindu spoke to said they were unaware of what green firecrackers were or how to identify them by their official logo.
Green firecrackers are eco-friendly alternatives to traditional ones, developed by CSIR-NEERI in 2018 to reduce air and noise pollution. They emit less particulate matter, avoid harmful chemicals such as barium, and are approximately 30% quieter. These firecrackers can be identified by a CSIR-NEERI and PESO logo, along with a QR code for authenticity.
R. Mohan, a resident of Medavakkam, said the firecrackers he purchased did not carry any such logo. Moreover, he said that the shopkeepers did not promote or mention these eco-friendly variants at all.
In Tamil Nadu, while the government encourages the public to opt for green firecrackers, there is no strict enforcement in place. D. Aravinth, a resident of Valasaravakkam, said that although he found the logo on the firecrackers he bought, he was unsure about what difference it truly made.
