Two of the most innovative creations in the history of man are – Technology and Plastic. While these two have definitely made our lives easy, they have hazardous consequences on the health and environment. Plastic is widely used throughout the world. To promote and implement the making of an Eco-friendly environment , the Union Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA) has adopted two resolutions piloted by India – Single use plastics and sustainable nitrogen management. This is the first time that an Indian backed resolution has been adopted by the UNEA.
Single use plastics are the ones that are intended to be used only once before they are thrown away or recycled.These usually include plastic cutlery, shopping bags and water bottles. Single use items actually account for over 40% of plastic consumption, so it seems blatantly obvious how we are making a bad problem worse. A report states that just 9% of the world’s nine billion tonnes of plastic waste is being recycled. Today we produce about 300 million tonnes of plastic waste every year, which is nearly equivalent to the weight of the entire human population. Shocking right?
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s 2018 World Environment Day pledge to rid India of single-use plastic was a bold move. Diverse organisations are working to change the way plastic is viewed and handled. But the “secret weapon” to solve this problem begins at “HOME”.
Children develop their sense of the world from adults around them, and there are a number of ways we can implement plastic reduction into their activities. Introducing them to the fact that fish see the ocean as their home and would rather not have plastic in it, is a good way to promote selfless thinking as well as educating them on the fact that plastic ends up in the sea.
Six Things That All Of Us Can Do
For the most part, reducing your plastic is common sense, but as we all know, real life is busy and it’s just a matter of building new and better habits.
By Aarthi V B
Science Teacher, Ekya School JP Nagar
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