Plastic. A word today that is synonymous with portability and convenience. A word that is also synonymous with waste, excess and pollution. Let’s face it. Plastic is everywhere these days. While these products seem like a cheap, option to use, they are wreaking havoc on the planet in a number of ways.
In fact, according to the Earth Policy Institute, nearly one trillion plastic bags alone are used worldwide every year, over and above everything else. The problem is that these bags contain polyethylene and cannot biodegrade, which means if they aren’t recycled or disposed of properly, they become pollution that we commonly see alongside the road or floating in the water. This equals trouble for not only us and our environment but animals and other wildlife as well.
The Indian government is waking up to this problem as well. In fact, it is worth celebrating that nearly 17 states and Union Territories have posed a complete ban on the manufacturing, sale and use of plastic bags. This infographic from plasticbagfreeday.org will further reinforce this need.
Source of image: https://www.plasticbagfreeday.org/facts/
Shocking, isn’t it?
Even more astounding is that plastic has a pervasive presence in all aspects of our life in the form of microbeads. Microbeads are manufactured solid plastic particles of less than one millimetre in their largest dimension. They are used in personal care products, toothpaste and in biomedical and health-science research.
Microbeads can cause plastic particle water pollution and pose an environmental hazard for aquatic animals in freshwater and ocean water.
Watch this incredible two-minute video that explains the dangers of microbeads:
Cheer up, though. Not everything is grim! Communities and countries all over the world are doing incredible work, ground up, to regulate the amount of plastic in our lives. We have covered more of these positive stories of change in our blog – Winning the War on Plastic In the meantime, if you come across inspiring stories from your neighbourhoods, share them with us here in the comments section!
Let’s Desh Apnayen by making our surroundings clean, plastic-free and naturally sustainable.