Recycle, reuse, reduce plastic for better future

The Earth is becoming a hub of plastic waste which is evident with the rise in a number of deaths of animals. Recently, nine deer at Nara Park in Western Japan died after swallowing plastic bags. Not only this, there has been a number of instances in the past where whales have died after swallowing plastic. A dead whale had washed up on the shore in Philippines which had 40 kg of plastic bags inside its stomach. Lately, there was a video on how a mother swan was removing plastic waste from a river and making way for her children to swim. In Japan’s Nara Park where nine deer died, the tourists were allowed to feed them special sugar-free crackers sold in shops nearby. These crackers did not come in plastic bags, but people still carried them. This makes me wonder, are we disappointing these creatures and mother nature? As per UN report on plastic pollution, if current trends continue, our oceans could contain more plastic than fish by 2050 as the rivers get contaminated and carry plastic to the oceans. We produce 300 million tonnes of plastic waste every year that is nearly equivalent to the weight of the entire human population.

To control plastic pollution, Malaysia announced that it will send 3,000 tonnes of plastic waste back to countries of origin, which is really a very good move.

In India, new laws and regulations banning plastic have been implemented, however, the question remains is, how seriously are they being implemented? Maharashtra banned single-use plastic in March 2018, but even today, plastic is being used and sold everywhere openly. The shopkeepers are selling products in plastic bags and different brand stores are charging customers for paper bags. Earlier, the State Government had banned the use of bubble wrap, however, the ban has been removed now. This shows poor execution of law by the Government. Now, the State Government is coming up with the ways to reuse milk pouches. Just implementation of law doesn’t matter here, the Government needs to come up with different ideas to curb the use of plastic. Either free paper bags or reusable bags need to be distributed to the shopkeepers or the people using plastic bags need to be seriously fined. With the help of environmentalists, new ideas and ways need to be discovered for the disposal of plastic. Different awareness programmes to educate people about the hazards of plastic pollution should be organised. We are lacking way behind in the run to reduce the use of plastic in India and if state-wise steps are not taken to curb this, the situation will turn from poor to worse. The Modi Government had pledged to eliminate all single-use plastics by 2022. But looking at the current situation I feel, this is a way too ambitious plan. 

All said and done, along with the government, it is our responsibility as well, to avoid the use of single-use plastic. We need to understand the seriousness of the situation and work on it. We should increase the use of jute bags or bags made from reusable material. If we start carrying our own bags to the shop, automatically the shopkeepers would stop using plastic bags. We are the ones responsible for creating this plastic waste, so now, the responsibility falls on us to clear this mess. It’s on us to understand the gravity of the situation and save the earth for our future generations.

Steps to curb the use of plastic

• Use jute bags or bags made from reusable material
• Always carry a bag while going for shopping 
• Use steel cutlery instead of disposable cutlery
• Give milk pouches back for recycling
• Educate people about the hazards of plastic pollution if you find them using plastic bags