Plastic Can't Kill! Our Ignorance Can!!

Nothing in this world is absolute good or bad to humanity. A knife used by surgeon is good; and is bad when used by a terrorist to slaughter. And thus, we are cursed to have no perfect good or bad. But that’s what keeps us engaged in this cycle of life. That gives us a chance to act accordingly for the greater good.

The same equation goes with plastic. Let’s have a look on data:

·      500 billion plastic bags used each year

·      13 million tons of plastic leak into the ocean each year

·      1 million plastic bottles bought every minute

·      100,000 marine animals killed by plastics each year

·      100 years for plastic to degrade in the environment

·      90% of bottled water found to contain plastic particles

·      83% of tap water found to contain plastic particles

·      10% of all human-generated waste is plastic

Now let’s see how plastics make our lives easier:

·      Plastics enable sustainable, durable, long-lasting design and construction in homes, buildings, and infrastructure like bridges.

·      In automotive design, plastics have contributed to a multitude of innovations in safety, performance and fuel efficiency.

·      Plastic packaging helps protect and preserve goods, while reducing weight in transportation, which saves fuel and reduces greenhouse gas emissions.

·      From computers and cell phones to televisions and microwaves, durable, lightweight and affordable plastics have helped revolutionize the electronics we rely on every day.

·      Plastics help make sports safety gear – such as plastic helmets, mouth guards, goggles and protective padding – lighter and stronger to help keep sports enthusiasts of all ages safe. Molded, shock-absorbent plastic foam helps keep feet stable and supported, while rugged plastics shells covering helmets and pads help protect heads, joints and bones.

Apart from the common daily use, plastics have become a mandatory integral constituent of Firefighting Suits, Safety Goggles, Space suits, Safety features of vehicles, Bullet proof glasses and vests. Although our scientist world is trying to have its replacement, we can’t have it all of a sudden, can we?

The overuse rather misuse of plastics have created havoc on our living planet. And definitely, there is no Planet B! But instead of blaming this ductile-malleable nonliving being, the one who should be blamed is us! And yes, nothing well is going to happen in this blame game. We started using plastics initially to ease our life chores and business, but we never stopped and gave a thought on their judicial use, reuse and recycling. Plastics became popular in 1960s and even though more than half century has gone, we have not implemented the solutions we were supposed to.

But it’s never too late! It’s time for us to act. Instead of declaring the national and international bodies accountable for laws and regulations, let’s start small, from us. We can:

·      Replace that shopping bag with a new jute bag and always carry one.

·      Can use reusable bottles and straws.

·      Educate and encourage businesses which focus on Reduce, Reuse and Recycle.

·      Use reusable/recyclable plastics.

·      Recycle those ‘Recyclable’ plastics.

·      Participate in Clean Drives and many more.

We can’t just wait and watch for some miracle because none is going to happen. This planet is ours and it’s us who are going to be troubled if we don’t act to save it, religiously. So, the next time we use any plastic, make sure it doesn’t end up going to oceans choking up a beautiful creature or ruining our blue economy.

Remember, If You Don’t Kill POLLUTION, It Will Kill YOU!!