Say NO to plastic!

You must have probably heard this phrase at least a 1000 times in your life, you must have thought over it for a minute or two, realized how plastic has become an inseparable part of your life and then just tossed the idea out of your mind. It happens to everyone, not just you but even I myself am a victim to such careless attitude. Though my inner 'Green' conscious mind awakens from time to time and I do some little act to reduce the dependence on plastic. I ensure to carry a cloth bag while going for grocery shopping which usually gathers at least 5 plastic bags per trip. Saving 5 plastic bags may seem like a small drop in the vast plastic ocean but as they say "boond boond se sagar banta hai" (drops of water make an ocean). Reading up to this paragraph must have already bored you about this topic, but that's the reality of our careless attitude on this important subject! It is really high time now that we start addressing this issue because the Plastic problem is a real problem and it's now or never!

What is Plastic?

Plastics are polymers which consist of many repeatedly linked molecular units of Carbon and Hydrogen. The raw hydrocarbon material for most synthetic plastics is derived from petroleum, natural gas or coal (which I'm sure you know are big contributors to carbon footprint).

Advantages to manufacturers?

It's main advantages to manufacturers are that it can be molded into any shape and size, they have low cost and are impervious to water. No wonder we find so many day to day items made of plastic - from toothbrush to plumbing pipes to aircraft parts.

Types of plastic and their uses

There is a wide variety of plastics ranging from:

Polyester (used in fibers and textiles),

Polyvinyl Chloride or PVC (used in plumbing pipes, shower curtains)

Polycarbonate (used in compact discs, eye glasses, traffic lights)

High-density polyethylene (used in Detergent bottles, milk jugs, and molded plastic cases)

Low-density polyethylene (used in Outdoor furniture, siding, floor tiles, shower curtains)

and so on.

Current scenario of plastic use

  

A major portion of plastics is used in the packaging industry. Remember the plastic wrapping that comes with any new stuff you buy? Reportedly, around 42% of India's plastic consumption is used in packaging. According to a  report of Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), from 2001 to 2007, the plastic consumption in India grew almost 21 times from 4,00,000 to 85,00,000 tonnes! If we compare with the world average, then India is far behind in plastic consumption (about one-fourth of the world average) and much ahead in recycling of plastic ( around 60% ahead of world average of 15-20%).

So what's the big deal about Plastic?

If they are so useful in our daily lives, why are we even discussing to stop the use of this 'Miracle-God-sent-super-useful' material?!! Here's are some reasons why...

Plastic never goes away.

Yes, you heard it right! Plastic is a durable material which is made to last forever, yet surprisingly, 33 percent of it is used once and just thrown away. Plastic cannot biodegrade; it breaks down into smaller and smaller pieces but it never goes away! Imagine all the plastic materials being dumped in our landfills, they are just going to pile up until we have mountains of plastic everywhere.

Plastic piles up in the environment.

In India about 60 % of plastic consumed gets recycled. The rest ends up in landfills, is incinerated, or becomes the invasive species known as  'litter.' Remember the lovely plastic bags, bottles and wrappers you see dotting the famous tourist spots? Few years ago, when I used to visit Lonavla, the famous Tiger point used to be a scenic beauty but it is now become a plastic landfill thanks to the lovely tourists who litter.

Plastic spoils our groundwater.

There are thousands of landfills in India. Buried beneath each one of them, plastic leachate full of toxic chemicals is seeping into groundwater and flowing downstream into lakes and rivers.

 

Plastic poisons our food chain.

Even plankton, the tiniest creatures in our oceans, are eating microplastics and absorbing their toxins. The substance displaces nutritive algae that creatures up the food chain require.

Plastic affects human health.

Chemicals leached by plastics are in the blood and tissue of nearly all of us. Exposure to them is linked to cancers, birth defects, impaired immunity, endocrine disruption and other ailments.

Plastic threatens wildlife.

Entanglement, ingestion and habitat disruption all result from plastic ending up in the spaces where animals live. In our oceans alone, plastic debris outweighs zooplankton by a ratio of 36-to-1. Even our sacred animal, the Cow, is not spared from the plastic menace. Thousands of cows across the country die due to ingestion of plastic waste.

Plastic costs billions to abate.

Everything suffers: tourism, recreation, business, the health of humans, animals, fish and birds—because of plastic pollution. The financial damage continuously being inflicted is inestimable.

Now that you have realised the menace that is caused by Plastic, we must focus on tackling this issue with utmost priority. More about ways to reduce plastic use in the coming post.