Look around and you are likely to be surrounded by plastic. It’s in the phone or computer you’re using, in the kitchen, bedroom, living room, your car, two-wheeler, school or office. Everywhere.
The 21st century is dominated by plastic, which is somewhat surprising given that the hydrocarbon-sourced version of plastic (earlier ones were made with bio-derived materials) is little more than a century old.
Hundreds of millions of tonnes of plastic are produced every year. Between 1950 and 2017 some 9.2 billion tonnes of the stuff was made, with more than half being produced since 2004. In many ways it is hard to imagine life without it but the dangers it poses also cannot be ignored.
Take a look at Meghalaya’s streets, rivers, lakes, forests and tourist spots and there is likely to be plastic litter spoiling the scene. Fossil fuel-derived plastic is not readily biodegradable and recycling rates vary. Besides it clogging up our environment, there is another danger that has only come to the fore in more recent years – micro plastics. When plastic degrades it is likely to break down into tiny particles unseen to the eye. What effect these have when inhaled or absorbed into the bloodstream is still being researched but it is unlikely to be positive.
Given all that we know already, the need to reduce our use of plastic, recycle what we do use and switch to biodegradable forms where possible should be self-evident. Sadly, however, we don’t seem to be doing enough. Consumers can make informed choices but too often companies don’t give them good options – for them, plastic is cheaper and there isn’t enough of an incentive to reduce its use.
This is where the legislatures and courts come into play, as their top-down directives are probably the only way to ensure we do better. Take, for example, the ban on plastic sticks in cotton buds. Following the ban, companies switched to wood or paper sticks. This was not a revolutionary change but manufacturers had no incentive to move away from cheaper plastic options until the ban was implemented.
In India the rules on plastic carry bags have changed periodically, with the minimum thickness now 120 microns, which the High Court of Meghalaya has ruled must be implemented from June 1. This should make the bags more expensive (thereby reducing wastefulness) and more likely to be recycled (given their extra value). However, while the rule is positive, implementation might be weak – thin plastic bags continue to be used in Meghalaya, especially in kirana shops and in the sale of meat, vegetables and fruit.
Too often plastic is demonised and here the famous thick cloth bags – pla iew – are held up as an alternative. But they are often too big and bulky for everyday use and there are a lot of resources that go into making a cloth bag that can detract from their environmental benefit. Instead, a lot of good can still be accomplished by using plastic shopping bags, so long as they are used multiple times. Keep one folded in your pocket every time you step out of the house and you will drastically cut down on the number of plastic bags used. That would be a step in the right direction.
