Against single-use plastic, not plastic-free India – Diligent IAS 03/10/2019 – Posted in: RSTV

Ban on Single-Use Plastic

 

 

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  • Single-use Plastic Ban in India

 

Ban on Single-Use Plastic

Today plastic has become an important part of everyone’s life. Plastic has been used nowadays in Flour packets, Ghee, Rice, Pulses, Cold drinks, Snacks, Medicines, Clothes, etc. When one is going to buy even any vegetable or fruit from the market, he/she will get it in the plastic packet. These plastics are the ones whom we use once and then throw away, to what we also termed as ‘Single-Use Plastic.’

 

These plastics take thousands of years to degrade, and are very harmful to not even human beings but also to environment and sea-creatures. Thousands of animals die every year just because they ate these plastics.

 

In India, the single-use plastic has a ratio of 40% plastic being used only once. Looking at the harmful effects of plastic, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has started the campaign on 15th August to stop using single-use plastic. Also, the government is preparing to start the campaign against this from 2nd October.

 

Central Government is continuously working for the challenge of stopping the usage of Single-Use Plastic. The public is now strictly advised to follow the rules so the harmful effect on the environment due to plastic usage can be minimized. The government is putting pressure on the Waste Management department to ban the use of plastic. The Government is planning to start the Countrywide Campaign from the 2nd October this year. On 25th August in Mann ki Baat program, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has announced that the campaign will be organised in the entire country from 2nd October against the use of plastic.

 

Prime Minister has planned to almost ban the use of plastic in the country till 2022. The 6 products plastic bags, cups, plates, small bottles, straw, and some sachets may be getting banned on 2nd October. This banning will be on the large scale in which the manufacturing, production and imports of these products may also be banned. The campaign will be organised in 3 steps, in the first step the awareness campaign will be organised in the entire country, in 2nd step various Government agencies will be collecting the products using the single use plastic, followed by the recycling of the collected plastic in the 3rd step. The preparation to stop using the plastic has been already started in various states as due to Prime Minister’s appeal to stop using the single use plastic.

 

Air India is going to ban the single-use plastic from 2nd October in its flights. The plastic will get banned here in two stages: first is banning the plastic in flights of Air India and Airlines Express, in the second round they will stop using the plastic materials. Central Home Minister Amit Shah has also appealed to ladies that they should not carry the plastics for shopping purposes. India has produced 94.6 Lakh tonnes of waste every year in which 40% waste does not get collected and 43% is being used for packaging purposes which are majorly a single-use plastic.

 

Single-Use Plastic

Plastic is a very serious issue for the entire world today. From human beings to animals, and environmental changes are facing the challenges due to single-use plastic. Those items which can be used only once and then threw away are the items which come under single-use plastic. These are also termed as ‘use and throw.’ These contain plastic packets (polythenes), straws, water bottles, milk packets, glasses, plates, cups, packets used for keeping foods, cold drinks bottles, biscuits, namkeens, etc. These products make use of plastic less than level of 40 microns which cannot be easily recycled nor degraded. The alarming situation is that in our daily lives I make the most use of single plastic only.

  • Every year approx 300 million tonne plastic is produced in the world in which more than half is thrown away using once.
  • Only 10-13 percent of the total produced plastic is able to recycle.
  • Disposable plastic is almost impossible to recycle because it is not degradable and usually goes to earth or in water after thrown away and then converts into poisonous chemicals after breaking into small particles.
  • Air gets polluted by burning the plastics. As per the reports, the amount of carbon dioxide produces due to the burning of plastics will be multiplied three times by 2030.
  • It also affects the fertility of the soil and then it goes to eatable items and water through the soil itself.
  • It affects the power in humans to fight with diseases and also the reproducing capabilities are affected and are the reason for the diseases like Cancer.

 

As per the research, the 70% part of plastics is present in Oceans. To prevent the use of single use plastic a large section of society needs to be aware, and with this the use of cloth and jute bags must be appreciated.

Negative effects of Plastic worldwide

This year World Environment Day was organised by India and the theme was to eradicate plastic pollution. India ranks 5th worldwide in using the plastic. In the country, every year approx 56 lakh tonne of waste is produced, in which 9,205 tonnes of plastic is being recycled and used again.

 

According to the Central Pollution Board, 690 tonnes of plastic in Delhi, 429 tonnes in Chennai, 426 tonnes in Kolkata, and 408 tonnes of plastic in Mumbai is produced every day. In our country, the plastic is only responsible for a large number of deaths in animals. The situation is very alarming in seas, approx 5, 00,000 particles are present in seas. This is only the 1% of the total on sea bed whereas 99% part is been inhaled by sea animals.

 

Even cancers like diseases are producing by eating foods in plastic items. As per the scientists, it takes more than 5,000 years to get eradicate the plastic. Every year 80-100 crores dollars of plastic get wasted in the world, due to which plastic industries are pressurised to recycle the same plastic again. These plastics get 1,000 of years to get degraded.

 

How to reduce the use of plastic?

  • We can make use of steel products or eco-friendly products instead of plastic products.
  • Cotton clothes can be used in place of synthetic clothes.
  • Wooden or eco-friendly toys for kids must be used instead of plastic toys.
  • Try not to get the foods packed, and to use the reusable bottles.
  • Plastic must be put always in the dustbin as to get it to recycle properly
  • Mud utensils can be used to store the food items for long time
  • Also, items for decoration purposes must be reduced in homes.

 

So now it’s in our hands to save the earth by not using the plastic.

 

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