Why single-use plastic should not use?

On 73rd Independence Day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged citizens of India to eliminate the use of single-use plastic to prevent environmental degradation and suggested shopkeepers use jute or cloth bags instead of plastic bags.

What is single-use plastic?

Single-use plastic(SUP) or disposable plastic, are used only once before they are thrown away or recycled. These items are like plastic bags, straws, coffee stirrers, soda and water bottles, and most of the food packaging. The benefits of plastic are undeniable. The material is cheap, lightweight and easy to make. In fact, SUPs are so convenient and cost-effective, it is hard to think of scenarios free of single-use plastic. It is for this reason that the scale of plastic production has reached a massive 300 million tons every year. Of this, 50 percent is SUP.

Why single-use plastic is a problem?

The U.N. Environment reports that just 9% of the world’s 9 billion tons of plastic have been recycled. India is producing roughly 300 million tons of plastic every year. Petroleum-based disposable plastic is difficult to recycle and they have to add new virgin material or chemicals to it to do so. Also, there is a limited number of items that recycled plastic can use. Petroleum-based plastic is not biodegradable and usually, that is buried or it gets into the water and finds its way into the ocean. 

It takes 500 (or more) years for a plastic bag to degrade in a landfill. Unfortunately, the plastic discarded at landfills slowly degenerates into small fragments and leaches carcinogenic (cancer-causing) chemicals into groundwater further affecting our Food. These toxic chemicals are now being found in our bloodstream and disrupt our Endocrine system which can cause cancer, infertility, birth defects, etc.

How the government of India is planning to eliminate single-use plastic?

The process of a campaign to eliminate single-use plastic will be carried out in 3 phases. In the first phase, the government will spread awareness to all the citizens about the harmful effects of single-use plastic. In the second phase, the government will collect all the single-use plastic and in the last phase, recycling of plastic will be done.

The government will introduce penalties for violation of a single-use plastic ban which will come in effect after six months of the ban to give people time to adopt the alternative of single-use plastic.

Some states of India already introduced a ban on the sale, storage, and use of single-use plastic items such as Sikkim, Delhi, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Nagaland, and Jharkhand.

What can we do?

? Use a cloth or reusable shopping bag for shopping.

? Avoid non-recycled plastic bottles and plastic straws.

? Support efforts to reduce our dependence on single-use plastic such as a ban on usage.

? Recycle as much as possible.

? Buy items in bulk to reduce plastic packaging.

? Be informed and spread awareness about what is and isn’t recyclable in your area/town/city.