What are eco-friendly crackers and how are they made

The world is becoming more conscious of the environmental pollution due to different kinds of human activity. Amidst the growing efforts in every sector to move towards eco-friendly alternatives, eco-friendly crackers mark a new way of celebrating Diwali with less impact on the environment. Green crackers as they are called, eco-friendly crackers are a new initiative by the Indian Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR). These crackers feature different formulations than the present crackers and fireworks you will see around in the market. The goal of developing green crackers is to reduce pollution and minimize the health risks.

What are green crackers?

The regular firecrackers pose high degree of pollution and health risks. The green crackers or eco-friendly crackers are manufactured from alternative raw materials to leave lesser impact on the environment and pose lesser health risks.

News about green crackers

In a recent press meet held on October 5, 2019 in New Delhi, the Health and Family Welfare Minister Harsh Vardhan explained about the green crackers and showed some recently developed green crackers to the media persons like flower pots, pencils, sparklers and chakkar. Talking on the green crackers, the minister said the environmental friendly crackers will help maintain the vibrant tradition of celebrations besides also providing livelihood to millions of homes that are solely dependent on the manufacture and sale of fireworks.

In a tweet, the minister said, “These will reduce the dust & smoke associated with crackers by 30% and also reduce sulfur oxide & nitrous oxide emissions by 20%”.

Manufacture of green crackers

The manufacture of green crackers has started in India already and thee eco-friendly crackers and fireworks are right now available for sellers and consumers in India in the market.

The new formulations for the making of green crackers have been developed based on the suggestions received from the Supreme Court. Following the moves by the Supreme Court, so far about 230 MoUs and 165 non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) have been signed with the companies that manufacture fireworks.

The green crackers have been developed as a result of the initiatives by the CSIR based on the new formulations for emitting lesser pollutants and sound. Since these crackers and fireworks make use of Potassium Nitrate as an oxidant, there will be about 30 percent reduction in the amount of particulate matter emitted.

The prices of green crackers are lesser than or at least equal to the prices of the regular crackers. As per the instructions by the government, the green crackers manufacturers are printing a green logo developed by the government and a quick response (QR) code on the crackers and packets in order to help distinguish them from the regular ones.

Why green crackers have been developed?

On grounds of increasing pollution levels due to the firing of crackers, in October 2018, the Supreme Court had banned the manufacture, sale and use of crackers that are not environment friendly. The apex court had also announced some restrictions on the time of bursting the crackers during the Diwali celebrations. During last year, the territory of Delhi faced very poor levels of air quality following Diwali due to the emissions from crackers and fireworks.

As per the Supreme Court orders, the green crackers are not loud enough beyond a particular limit. It is mandatory for the green crackers to be free of harmful ingredients like arsenic, mercury and barium. The manufacturers must obtain clearance for the green crackers from the Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organization (PESO).

The CSIR got some samples of newly developed green crackers approved by the PESO and so the Supreme Court has permitted the bulk manufacturing of green crackers from May 2019.

There is no better way of celebrating this Diwali then by buying green crackers you can find easily in the market.