Article | Reduce the Plastic Use To Increase The Lifespan | Dr (Ms) Sharad Singh | Central Chronicle

Article
Reduce the Plastic Use To Increase The Lifespan
         -    Dr (Ms) Sharad Singh
Writer, Author & Social Activist
Blogger - "Climate Diary Of Dr (Ms) Sharad Singh"

*We have surrounded by Plastic materials and their wastes. A small convenience is throttling our lives. Do you know? The use of plastic has increased so much all over the world and every year so much plastic is thrown all over the world that it makes four circles of the whole earth. Plastic harms us in all kinds of ways. The toxic chemicals present in it directly affect the body. At the same time, plastic waste is rapidly harming our environment and climate. This is affecting the oceans, rivers, glaciers to the weather too. So can't we say 'No' to such harmful plastics?*

''Aunty! Look what I have made!” the little girl said to me excitedly. Her little hands had DIY things that she had made.
"Very beautiful !" I complimented. I didn't want to disappoint the little girl but I was sad to see that she had chosen plastic waste as the material to make those things.
Yes, my friend's little daughter made some home decor items from plastic cold drink bottles and showed them to me enthusiastically. Her mother proudly said that "we do not need to throw away plastic bottles as my daughter can make something out of them. In this way, plastic waste is managed well in my house."
Was my friend's words true? Can plastic waste be managed in this way? Probably not, because in this way the shape and size of that waste was changed but the plastic remained the same as. When the girl gets bored with the things she has made, she will throw them in the garbage and then that plastic will create a risk to the environment because plastic itself never gets destroyed. Using it in some other form through recycling also cannot save from the plastic waste.
In fact, the use of plastic has become an integral part of our life and to get rid of this harmful part, we have to change our habits. Plastic is cheap and durable and has revolutionized human activity. Modern life is addicted to and dependent on this versatile substance, which is found in everything from computers to medical equipment to food packaging. Unfortunately, an estimated more than 8.5 million metric tons of plastic waste dumped up in our oceans every year. Oceanographers have warned that if we keep dumping plastic waste in the sea like this, by the year 2050 there will be more plastic in the oceans than fish by weight. This will be harmful to marine life. Coral reefs in particular will suffer the most. The question arises that without going near the ocean, how are we filling it with plastic waste? The simple answer is that we are not doing it directly but the garbage dumpers are dumping the garbage thrown by us which cannot be disposed illegally in the rivers, ponds and oceans.
Another report talks about the same problem. According to the landmark 2020 report “Breaking the Plastic Wave,” if we delay action by just five years, an additional 80 million metric tons of plastic will end up in the ocean by 2040. By the pace of climate change, we’re running out of time to solve the plastics problem. That is why now the need for a global plastic treaty dialogue is being felt so that all the countries of the world can together save all the water bodies including the oceans from the never-ending toxic plastic waste.
Most people think that when plastic is discarded in recycling bins, it goes away.  But there is no “away” – only 9 percent is recycled globally and the rest is dumped in the natural environment.   In fact, South Asia is one of the largest generators of plastic waste, discarding more than 26 million tons of plastics every day.  South Asia also has among the world’s highest portion of waste that is openly dumped 75 %.The facts are horrible. The plastic waste generates GHG emissions when exposed to solar radiation both in air and water.  Around 18 million tons of plastics originating from South Asia are mismanaged and, consequently, are washed into the ocean, where they emit methane and ethylene due to exposure to sunlight. Polyethylene is the highest emitter of both gasses and is the most produced and discarded synthetic polymer globally.
Researchers have found that open burning is a common waste treatment practice in Asia and around the developing world. The amount of waste burned in India and Nepal combined accounts for 8.4 percent of waste burned globally. Burning of waste in open fires leads to the production of a serious air pollutant, black carbon and is responsible for half of the visible smog in cities like New Delhi. The global warming potential of black carbon is up to 5,000 times greater than that of carbon dioxide (CO2).
We are so dependent on plastic that from drinking water bottle to lunch box, we use only plastic. We are using plastic but are unaware of its ill effects. You know that plastic is harmful to the human body in many ways. The chemicals used in the manufacture of plastic are toxic and harmful to the body. Chemicals like lead, cadmium and mercury come in direct contact with the human body through the use of plastic. These toxic substances can cause cancer, birth defects, affect the immune system and development of children in childhood. Actually, plastic waste gives rise to pollution not only in water but also on the ground, which is affecting the climate. This is the reason that now the weather pattern is not the same as before. This year 2023 summer has started in the month of February itself. Meteorologists have predicted that this year will be hotter than before. The faster the weather is changing its pattern, the faster we cannot correct it. However, we can slow down the pace of this change if we make our lifestyle eco-friendly. Let us reduce the use of those things which are harming the climate. Reducing the use of plastic would be the most meaningful step in this direction. Of course, we have started trying to reduce the use of plastic, but the pace is slow. We have to accelerate our efforts so that the damage caused by plastic waste can be minimized.
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(26.02.2023)
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