With consumption patterns changing, the use of single-use plastic has increased manifold in the last few decades. Now cities are realizing the significance of going plastic-free, it is necessary to provide sustainable alternatives locally and create an enabling environment for businesses and consumers to shun plastic forever.
The ‘disposable’ lifestyle of citizens is damaging the urban environment and also oceans. In day-to-day urban life, citizens generate mountains of waste by using disposable plastic items such as plastic bags, packaging material, wrappers, toothbrushes, and plastic disposable cutlery items. A majority of these items are strewn on our streets or land up in dumping sites of municipalities. A tiny amount of such waste is segregated and recycled. Hence, most plastic waste gets accumulated on our streets, water bodies, or dumping sites. It takes centuries for plastic to degrade.
In India, the plastic industry began in the later part of the 1950s, but it took almost thirty years to reach the masses. However, the sheer size of the plastic waste problem could be understood because the first plastic bag that ever came to use in the country would not have degraded if not recycled or reused. Today, India is generating approximately 26,000 tonnes of plastic waste (TPD) every day. This is likely to grow at 10 per cent. Moreover, as India is on the path to becoming a
$5 trillion economy, it will surely drive consumption. Hence, the growth rate could be even higher. Therefore, it is required that governments and technology companies must come out with a foolproof strategy to handle the massive burden of plastic waste.
The recent pandemic also drove up the demand for disposable masks advised by governments and medical experts to be used once or, at most, a couple of times. India traditionally does not dispose of things until citizens have utilized the products to the fullest. India was among the first nations which started using traditional clothes like ‘gamcha’ or cotton towels as masks. Though the medical effectiveness of such products could not be verified at that time, Indian citizens have a mentality to reuse things, and not opt for disposable items. Thousands of small and big manufacturing units came up and started making masks almost instantly. We have seen many countries facing the difficulty of shortages of masks during that period.
According to a research study by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the COVID-19 pandemic is estimated to generate up to 7200 tons of medical waste every day, much of which is disposable masks. Facemasks and protective gears used by medical professionals have also become essential for saving lives and containing the spread of the deadly virus. In other parts of the world, governments have started promoting reusable masks because it is well-known that usage of masks may continue even after the COVID threat is over. Some countries have even developed technology to make reusable masks made of silicone rubber and an N95 filter. The filter can be either discarded or sterilized after use. Such technological interventions and innovation for making sure that less and less waste is generated is a way to go for a sustainable future, particularly for urban areas.
Shun plastic
There are many small yet significant initiatives that individuals can take at their level to reduce the use of plastic. First, citizens must ditch plastic bottles for reusable metal or glass bottles. Packaged drinking water bottles are a strict no. Data suggests that one single person can save approximately 1400 bottles from going to landfill sites. It is also concerning that most single-use plastic items, including water bottles, do not land up in landfill sites or recycling centres. Instead, they enter our water bodies, are eaten up by animals, or remain lying in our vicinity. According to data published by Plasticides.org, 100,000 marine animals die every year by eating plastic.
It is very much required that people in cities and elsewhere be sensitized about the harms of plastic water bottles, plastic bags, plastic straws, and cutleries. Approximately one million plastic bags are used every minute globally. These are the products that are easily replaceable with sustainable alternatives. The simple change of habit can save the lives of marine animals and help in protecting our environment. People must use reusable items and shun single-use plastic items for good. In this, the role of urban local bodies is critical as their waste management policies and initiatives should be designed to discourage the usage of single-use plastic items. Local governments can also incentivize the use of reusable products and penalize the usage of single-use plastic.
In India, many cities and municipalities have banned the use of single-use plastic, but only a few cities have implemented the ban effectively. As a result, one can find single-use plastic items being used rampantly.
Plastic industry began in the later part of the 1950s in India, but it took almost thirty years to reach the masses. However, the sheer size of the plastic waste problem could be understood because the first plastic bag that ever came to use in the country would not have degraded if not recycled or reused. Today, India is generating approximately 26000 tonnes of plastic waste every day. This is likely to grow at 10 per cent
Explore alternatives
Many urban citizens are getting increasingly aware of the harmful effects of plastic on Planet Earth. A majority of them want to avoid its use. Awareness around plastic use and its consequences is increasing by the day, and there are a few alternatives available. Many of these are suitable for the planet but not for the pocket of a majority of the population. As a result, the wealthy and environmentally conscious population have started switching to sustainable alternatives. But these alternatives are either not widely popularized, scarcely available, or over priced.
There is no doubt that plastic items are handy, cheap and useful. Therefore, if governments want to discourage people from using them, a stringent policy could be placed on manufacturing plastic items. However, this could be an extreme step as plastic items are found in almost every item we use daily, from mobile phones, household decor items, cutlery, electronic gadgets to the computer keyboard used for writing this article. Therefore, there should be an alternative available without burning a big hole in the pocket of end-users. The concept of bioplastic is also flourishing. Still, the main problem with bioplastic is that it may create another problem by burdening the environment to produce more crops suitable for bioplastic and may also stress food production and water availability.
Another approach could be people-centric. People must be environmentally conscious in making choices. For example, people can carry cloth bags and avoid using polythene bags, carry your own reusable water bottle and cutlery while going out. The improvised use of bamboo, paper, wood, cloth, pottery, glass, etc can change the packaging paradigm. Consumers can drive change by choosing products that come in recyclable packaging materials. For example, many grocery shops in big cities do not use any plastic and provide alternative packaging material or ask customers to bring empty containers. If people begin making such choices, it will force companies to do away with the use of plastic. Over some time, the plastic industry players will gradually shift to a sustainable business alternative. Cities can do a lot but it requires sincere, consistent and rigorous efforts by all stakeholders, including the citizens.