Plastic: Ending lives

Over fifty years, plastic bags progressed from being a wonder to a threat to the world we live in. When plastic was first invented they were meant to be a better choice than paper bags, which were thought to have been bad for the environment because of the chopping down of trees in huge numbers and for the prevention of deforestation. Plastic Bags were lighter in weight, easier to make, durable, waterproof and cheaper to ship, so their convenience appealed immensely to both the generator/ supplier and the consumer. In the late 1980s, plastic had almost replaced paper bags worldwide. Today, about one trillion plastic bags are generated in the world annually. The negative consequences of using plastic bags were unforeseen until they started popping up in the environment. Only 9 percent of the total plastic waste in the world is recycled.

Presently, plastic bags are one of three plastic products that contribute majorly to plastic pollution in the world. Most single-use plastics when abandoned eventually end up in landfills, and if not, they end up in the waterways, even drinkable waters sometimes. They break into small microplastics that can absorb other pollutants or end up being consumed by sea creatures that mistake them for food, which ends up hurting or killing them. If not intaken, plastics can harm the muted creatures: Being wrapped around, Plastic wires skinning deep in the skin of these animals, misunderstood by the animals also used in their shelter making process. One significant challenge is that almost all the plastic bags produced are intended for single use. Aside from the reusability issue, the production of the material relies mainly on non-renewable resources, and the recycling systems are not currently set up to accept these bags. The reasons for this are: (1) many recycling facilities do not have the required equipment to collect, sort and handle the bags; (2) there are several different types of plastics used for bags, so the waste stream is not pure; and (3) producing bags from new plastic is often cheaper than producing them from recycled plastic.

As per the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE):

-CSE's new background paper on plastic waste and its management forms the backdrop of discussions at a webinar attended by key bureaucrats and experts

-79 percent of the plastic made in the world enters our land, water and environment as waste; some of it also enters our bodies through the food chain, says the CSE analysis

-India has not yet acted on the Prime Minister’s call for ‘freedom’ from single-use plastics. The government’s 2022 deadline for such a ban has now been rescinded

-CSE offers an "actionable" agenda to confront and surmount the challenge – calls for a better understanding of the characteristics of the product and the politics of recycling, segregation at source, and a ban on plastics that cannot be recycled, among other things.

A global material balance research on plastics points out that 79 per cent of the total plastics produced in the world enters our environment as waste. Only 9 percent of the total plastic waste in the world is recycled. A Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) report (2018-19) puts the total annual plastic waste generation in India at a humongous 3.3 million metric tonnes per year. Even this data, frightening as it is, might be an underestimation. While India’s plastic waste problem is not as huge as that of the rich world, it is growing. Richer states like Goa and Delhi produce as much as 60 grams and 37 grams per capita per day respectively – against a national average of 8 grams per capita per day.

About eight million tonnes of plastic enter the ocean each year, so solving the problem may seem overwhelming. One of the major problems in managing plastic waste has been the lack of credible, actionable data and knowledge. If we understand the characteristics of plastic waste, we will be able to manage it better and use it properly. Over 700 marine species, including half of the world's cetaceans (such as whales and dolphins), all of its sea turtles and a third of its seabirds, are known to ingest plastic or get tangled in it. Sharp pieces of plastic can also pierce the gut wall, causing infection and sometimes death. When animals eat plastic, it can obstruct their digestive system, causing a long, slow death from starvation. Even a little piece of plastic can pierce the gut wall of an animal, causing infection and sometimes death.

The issue of microplastics is growing more and more well known. Microplastics are described as under 5mm in size and can be parts of larger plastic items that have degraded down into smaller fragments, or tiny pieces of pre-production plastic that has escaped into nature before it’s even been made into anything useful.

They are very harmful to the environment and ultimately our health i.e. poisoning or destruction for the creatures and organisms they come into contact with (often mistaken for food) and passing the contaminants up the food chain.

Experts identified four main items they considered to be most deadly to wildlife: fishing debris, plastic bags, balloons, bottles, cans and plastic utensils. Flexible plastics, such as plastic films, bags and packaging, can cause gut blockage and be responsible for the greatest number of deaths overall in animal groups. These film plastics caused the most deaths in cetaceans and sea turtles. Fishing debris, such as nets, lines and tackle, caused fatalities in larger animals, particularly seals and sea lions.

Normally, plastic items take up to 1000 years to decompose in our environment. But plastic bags we use in our everyday life take 10-20 years to decompose, while plastic bottles take 450 years. How can we protect our mother earth? Starting with small things like continuing to throw our plastic straws into the garbage would be a step in the opposite direction since they’re not easily recyclable due to their size, so let us use aluminium or paper straws. It would be best to go back to paper bags for our shopping needs. The alternatives are endless if we manage to find them. Instead of spending the next hundred years just finding the solutions, let us start working on a fix on our own, acknowledging the "Zero Waste" technique and saving some innocent sea creatures who are being murdered by humans in the worst possible ways.

Filaantro along with Child Help Foundation and For Future India is running a campaign to save the marine line and the life on land. To date, they have cleaned several beaches in Juhu, Khar Danda, Dana Pani, Manori, Gorai, Uttan, Velankanni, and Arnala with the help of 1800 plus volunteers. During the beach cleanups, they have collected more than 1 lakh kilograms of plastic waste. At the same time, they plan to grow more mangrove plantations to make the beaches of Mumbai look beautiful and make aquatic lives healthier.

They need our help in saving the innocent lives of the muted. We have used mother nature to its very extent and even exploited it, it is time for us to give it back. Save the Environment, Stop the use of Plastic.

https://filaantro.org/fundraiser/view/BeachCleanups

Author : Lubdha Dhanopia

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