Say "NO" to Plastic Bags

Does this sight, disturb you? As you open the gate of your home to go out, you will probably step over used plastic bags, empty biscuit wrappers, or even empty pan masala pouches. All over the street, in the drains and on the pavements there are discarded plastic packets and bottles, making the whole place filthy.  Is it not? If yes, this message is a call for action.

The use of plastic seems to have grown to alarming proportions and seems to keep growing. There is a need to put an end to it, as it is a major threat for our environment. First let us try to find out why plastic is an environmental hazard.

• Polyethylene, polyvinyl chloride, and polystyrene are the composition base in the manufacture of plastics and these materials are not bio-degradable in nature.
• Over 4 trillion plastic bags are manufactured each year, of which hardly,  1%  is recycled
• It takes 1000 years for polyethylene bags to break down.
• As polyethylene breaks down, toxic substances leach into the soil and enter the food chain.
• Plastic bags are carried by the wind into forests, ponds, rivers, and lakes
• More than 1 million birds and I lakh marine mammals perish each year by either eating plastic waste or becoming trapped in it. These animals suffer a painful death, the plastic wraps around their intestines or they choke to death.
• Plastic waste in India is about 4.5 million tons a year. The average human in India uses 3 kg of plastic per person per year.

Countries all over the world are slowly becoming aware of the threat plastic bags present to our world. Many have enacted laws aimed to decrease the use of plastic bags, while others have, or are, planning to impose taxes on the use of plastic bags.

A ban on plastic may be the right answer.  Take for example, a place like Ooty. Earlier, owing to tourist crowd there was enormous amount of plastic waste which was spoiling the beauty of this nice hill station. Today, they have a very strict ban on plastic and the results are clearly obvious. Ooty has stylish-looking newspaper bags in which your tea, chocolates and spices will be handed over. These forward-thinking, socially conscious corporations should be commended, but the reality is, we do not have to wait for such laws to be enforced. If each one of us make a commitment, and take responsibility for this pollution which threatens to overwhelm the city, we can make a change.

There is one simple action we can all take that will have an enormous impact on the health of our planet and its inhabitants. The next time you shop, don't forget to carry your own shopping bag. If everyone did this, one of the most lethal polluters created by man would be removed from circulation. Carry a shopping bag like we did in the old days or put a basket into the boot of your car into which you can fill a whole shopping cart. We can lessen our environmental footprint by minimizing our use of plastic shopping bags.  If we do so, our world will become a cleaner, safer place for all living things.

If each of us cut back on our consumption of plastic responsibly, there will be much less floating around the garbage dumps in the city. It might take a little planning and a little more time to say no to plastic bags, but by putting life ahead of inconvenience, each and everyone of us can make a difference to the health of our planet and to all of those living things that have no choice but to live or to die because of the decisions we make.

Let us take a vow to curtail the usage of plastic bags and make the city we live in, a better place.

  D. Senthil Kannan,

  Managing Trustee, PALMS, Tuticorin.

  Author of "Transformational Thoughts" - A Journey of learning 

  Email: senthilkannand@gmail.com