A Drowned Truth

There are always few things around us that mark their presence in one way or the other. No matter how much one try to avoid but they are bound to come across by any means. Absence of alternatives makes our excuse go easy. Plastic being one of them. Ban on Single use plastics was welcomed by many but……..has it really gone??? The question still lingers around. 

In words of Anthony T. Hincks, “Plastic will be the main ingredient of all our grandchildren’s recipes”.

Single-use plastics are goods that are made primarily from fossil fuel–based chemicals (petrochemicals) and are meant to be disposed of right after use—often, in mere minutes. Single-use plastics are most commonly used for packaging and service ware, such as bottles, wrappers, straws, and bags. Single-use plastics are the reflection of the throw-away culture that we, humans have adopted. We tend to bargain environment, unique biodiversity, health with our convenience. Is it rational???

I know, some will say that it is necessary to have plastics around us; it is not only reasonable but important too like, surgical gloves etc. But my friend, here is the catch. As per the reports, these make up only a fraction of single use plastics. According to UNEP, approximately 36 per cent of all plastics produced are used in packaging, including single-use plastic products for food and beverage containers, approximately 85 per cent of which ends up in landfills or as unregulated waste. Additionally, some 98 per cent of single-use plastic products are produced from fossil fuel, or "virgin" feedstock. The level of greenhouse gas emissions associated with the production, use and disposal of conventional fossil fuel-based plastics is forecast to grow to 19 per cent of the global carbon budget by 2040. 

Plastics are everywhere: land, oceans, glaciers, blood, milk, even placenta. First evidence of microplastics in human placenta were reported and termed as Plasticenta. Plastics don’t really break down; they just break up. Over time, sun and heat slowly turn plastics into smaller and smaller pieces until they eventually become what are known as microplastics. Plastics are becoming the marker of Anthropocene era; scientists have begun to call this new marine microbial habitat as "plastisphere". (as per ESA Journal) 

Though we see plastics dancing around the streets but life beneath the water is also not untouched. Marine animals bear the burden of this influx of garbage into their habitats. Beached whales have been found with stomachs full of plastic trash. And recent studies found plastic in the guts of 90 percent of the seabirds tested and 100 percent of the turtles. Alarmingly, scientists estimate that there will be more plastic than fish in the ocean by weight in 2050. Not only is plastic estimated to kill millions of marine animals and seabirds each year, but it’s also contaminating seafood that humans have relied on for millennia, particularly with microplastics in animals’ guts.  It is estimated that 75 to 199 million tonnes of plastic is currently found in our oceans and it could nearly triple from 9-14 million tonnes per year to a projected 23-37 million tonnes per year by 2040.

The solution lies in front of us, all it takes is the conviction and implementation. There is a need to block the plastic at its source and for that all the stakeholders- government, industry, consumers, must pledge to do so. Mere talking and policy making will not change the gruesome pictures of the environment. Banning is not a solution. There is need for regulation, innovations, upgradations. There is a need to bring innovations so the plastics we need are designed and brought into the economy in a way that allows for their reuse. There is a need to ensure circulation of the plastic in the market for as long as possible. The business models must shift from single-use to reusable product models. The consumers complain about the alternative solutions. Consumers must be made aware of reliable and transparent sustainable information so that they can make informed decisions. Individual choices add up to the collective shifts can help in bringing out the change. At individual level we can clean a beach, clean a river, shop sustainably, try a Zero-Waste Lifestyle, travel sustainably, dress sustainably, choose plastic-free personal care products and be an advocate for change.

Plastic is a most destructive weapon than a nuclear bomb or an atom bomb, its impact shall remain for centuries on the future generation.   ̴ Sir P.S Jagadeesh Kumar