1.

What do you know about the problems regarding the

disposal of plastic

Aryan: I know that biodegradation of plastic takes a million years. Food is getting affected as
the plastic enters marine and land animals and it impacts the whole food chain and primary
and secondary consumers and animal populations decrease. Visual pollution happens
around the globe as people dump it in landfills and the beauty of a place is diminished

Ipshita: It is a big issue. I think we should avoid the usage of plastic as much as we can and
only use it under certain circumstances. Using alternatives to plastic items makes more of a
difference than we think. Littering is also a very big problem and people do this because they
can’t find a trash can. The government should add trash cans wherever possible, but people
aren't gonna change, so littering policies should be added because other species will be
affected.

Mihika: People around the world don’t really tend to pay attention to the problems regarding
plastic and litter a lot of items. Its effect is bad on nature and it started years ago and we are
trying to undo our action

Sara: The problem of disposable plastic is that it is not being disposed of in the correct way
causing problems like loss of marine life and global warming.

Myrah: Whenever people throw plastic, it causes problems like animals eating the plastic
and it can cause a lot of air pollution. It creates a heap of waste that can not be decomposed

Yannis: The problems are very vast, there is an Increase of greenhouse gasses, pollution of
the ocean, depletion of marine life, birds and other animals. Plastic problems affect an entire
ecosystem.
 2. Do you use or throw plastic in any food/drink at school?

Aryan: I don’t really eat plastic containing items, and at school I take my own tiffin and don’t
even eat from the canteen, and when I do, the canteen provides paper plates. Whatever I
use, I don't throw it around, I throw it in the dustbin and segregate between wet and dry
waste. Even my tiffin box contains aluminum foil and not plastic

Ipshita: Yeah sometimes my mom packs me snacks but usually I get fresh made food

Mihika: I have used and thrown items but at the time I was not aware of the effects but now i
use alternatives..

Sara: No. But in some rare cases I do

Myrah: The interviewee disagrees reluctantly with the question asked.

Yannis: I use reusable plastic bags when i go for shopping and very rarely when I don’t have
any on me, I do use other plastic
 3. Do you implement any of the school measures at a
personal level?

Aryan: As I have stated in the past, I have dry and wet dustbins, not only in my building, but
at my house as well. We segregate through blue (dry waste) and pink (wet waste). Any
leftover waste is only thrown in the dustbin. I do not like the attitude towards people littering
plastic everywhere. We never use plastic cups, only glass. My plastic usage is quite low.

Ipshita: Not necessarily at school but at home, I have taken some measures. Back in Los
Angeles, we used to clean up plastic and make crafts with them

Mihika: At home, we recycle plastic and we have plastic bags at home and we are using
those as trash bags and to keep them for further use. We use recyclable straws instead of
getting a new one.

Sara: At home I use plastic bags and reduce the amount of plastic in the things i buy

Myrah: Yeah, when I go shopping I use jute bags instead of plastic bags. I also prefer to use
cutlery instead of plastic plates

Yannis: Yes, I have a plastic holder in the kitchen where I keep bags for re-using, and the
only time I can not is when there is wet waste involved. Our society segregates between wet
and dry waste.

INTERVIEWEES:

Aryan Karthigeyan, Age 13

Aryan takes a conscious effort in plastic recycling and has recycled plastic using various
methods. He is well aware about the fact that plastic takes a long time to biodegrade. He
knows about how the food chain can collapse if animals consume plastic. He has stated that
he is a healthy person in general and does not consume items that are packaged in plastic.
He throws all his waste into the dustbin, and never litters. Aryan segregates his waste into
dry and wet, which is easier for recycling. He does not like it if someone throws plastic
around and feels that when he sees plastic litter in a beautiful place it diminishes the beauty
of the place.
Ipshita Singh, Age 14

Ipshita feels that the issue is large and that it is better to use alternatives to plastic. She feels
negatively about littering and feels that people do this as they don’t find trash cans and
thinks that there should be more trash cans everywhere. There should also be policies for
people who don’t comply. She rarely eats plastic packaged foods and mostly eats fresh
made food. When she was in America, she made a conscious effort to recycle plastic by
picking up plastic trash and making crafts out of it.

Mihika Gupta, Age 13

She feels that people do not pay attention to the plastic problems throughout. She feels that
the consequences on Nature are bad and that we are making a step forward trying to undo
our actions. She used to throw waste in the past but now she knows the consequences of
these actions and does not throw waste. She also recycles plastic bags and plastic straws

Sara Gupta, Age 13

Sara feels plastic is not being disposed of correctly and that it is responsible for causing
global warming and loss of animal life. She has a low usage of plastic and recycles plastic
bags.

Myrah Deepam, Age 13

Myrah feels that plastic can not be decomposed and that consumption of plastic by animals
is a problem. Myrah does not throw plastic from food and drinks. She prefers to use jute
bags instead of plastic bags for shopping and uses steel cutlery over plastic cutlery

Yannis John, Age 13

Yannis feels that the problems are very vast, there is an Increase of greenhouse gasses,
pollution of the ocean and a depletion of marine life, birds and other animals. He has stated
that plastic problems affect an entire ecosystem. He recycles shopping bags and rarely
takes plastic bags when he doesn't have recyclable shopping bags with him. He stores
plastic bags in a section of his kitchen and segregates between wet and dry waste.