Plastic Menace

– The truth behind plastic pollution.

– Environmental damage created by plastic.

– Human Rights abuses that occur throughout the lifecycle of plastic.

– False solution of plastic recycling.

– Initiative launched by the Union Environment Minister to stop the plastic menace.

– Infographic to show the increase in the use of plastic.

– Some states/ countries are successful in reducing the use of plastic.

– cutting from Newspaper/Journals to show the impact of Plastic

The truth behind plastic pollution.

we need to understand how plastics became an inescapable nightmare.

The three main types of plastic are:

1. High-Density Polyethylene (HDPE): found in your dry cleaning garment

bags;
2. Low-Density Polyethylene (LDPE): found in single-use lightweight bags;
3. Linear Low-Density Polyethylene (LLDPE): found in traditional shopping
bags;

The most common examples of single-use plastics are bottles, straws,

shopping bags, cups, and food packaging.
Numbers Don't Lie

Although plastic is durable, versatile, and cheap, it degrades slowly.

Lightweight bags are eaten by livestock and wildlife and became one of the
most common types of marine litter.

And the horrible truth is that, by 2050, oceans will have more plastic than fish.
We can't simply live without making change happen.

Since 1950, the world has produced 8.3 billion tonnes of plastic and 6.3 billion
tonnes of plastic waste. In 2015, the planet generated 322 million tonnes of
plastic.

Of all the waste generated in 192 coastal countries, 275 million metric tonnes
is made of plastic. Between 60 and 80 percent of litter found in the oceans is
plastic.

But there's more. Ammonium levels increase exponentially on plots covered

by bags, and marshland covered by plastic bags has lower oxygen levels and
fewer organisms.

Kenyan supermarkets hand out 100 million single-use plastic bags. The
African country's 30 plastic manufacturing units sell plastic products for a
total of $406 million.

In Kenya, 40 percent of cattle that died during the 2017 drought had ingested
a significant amount of plastic bags.

How To Beat Plastic Pollution

So, what can governments and companies do to tackle plastic pollution?

1. Impose a levy on single-use plastic;

 2. Ban single-use plastic;
3. Ban plastic cups and cutlery;
4. Biologically source material for plastic cups, cutlery, and plates;
5. Ban microbeads and water pollutants;

And, what can consumers do on a daily basis?

1. Use reusable or degradable shopping bags made from starch, corn, or

potatoes;
2. Buy unpackaged food;
3. Use paper, steel, or bamboo straws;
4. Look for alternative packaging like paper;
5. Invest in reusable containers and coffee mugs;
6. Lobby for plastic management strategies and recycling regulation;
7. Pressure companies to use less plastic;
8. Advocate for single-use plastic tax;

Whether you're at home or work, start reducing the use of plastics now.

Plastic pollution has become one of the most pressing environmental
issues, as rapidly increasing production of disposable plastic products
overwhelms the world’s ability to deal with them. Plastic pollution is
most visible in developing Asian and African nations, where garbage
collection systems are often inefficient or nonexistent. But the
developed world, especially in countries with low recycling rates, also
has trouble properly collecting discarded plastics. Plastic trash has
become so ubiquitous it has prompted efforts to write a global
treaty negotiated by the United Nations.

How did this happen?

Plastics made from fossil fuels are just over a century old. Production
and development of thousands of new plastic products accelerated after
World War II, so transforming the modern age that life without plastics
would be unrecognizable today. Plastics revolutionized medicine with
life-saving devices, made space travel possible, lightened cars and jets—
saving fuel and pollution—and saved lives with helmets, incubators, and
equipment for clean drinking water.

The conveniences plastics offer, however, led to a throw-away culture

that reveals the material’s dark side: today, single-use plastics account
for 40 percent of the plastic produced every year. Many of these
products, such as plastic bags and food wrappers, have a lifespan of
mere minutes to hours, yet they may persist in the environment for
hundreds of years.

See photos of animals in a world of plastic

Plastics by the numbers

Some key facts:

 Half of all plastics ever manufactured have been made in the last
15 years.
 Production increased exponentially, from 2.3 million tons in 1950
to 448 million tons by 2015. Production is expected to double by
2050.
 Every year, about 8 million tons of plastic waste escapes into the
oceans from coastal nations. That’s the equivalent of setting five
garbage bags full of trash on every foot of coastline around the
world.
 Plastics often contain additives making them stronger, more
flexible, and durable. But many of these additives can extend the
life of products if they become litter, with some estimates ranging
to at least 400 years to break down.
How plastics move around the world

Most of the plastic trash in the oceans, Earth’s last sink, flows from
land. Trash is also carried to sea by major rivers, which act as conveyor
belts, picking up more and more trash as they move downstream. Once
at sea, much of the plastic trash remains in coastal waters. But once
caught up in ocean currents, it can be transported around the world.

On Henderson Island, an uninhabited atoll in the Pitcairn Group

isolated halfway between Chile and New Zealand, scientists found
plastic items from Russia, the United States, Europe, South America,
Japan, and China. They were carried to the South Pacific by the South
Pacific gyre, a circular ocean current.

5:45

PLASTICS 101
Microplastics

Once at sea, sunlight, wind, and wave action break down plastic waste
into small particles, often less than one-fifth of an inch across. These
so-called microplastics are spread throughout the water column and
have been found in every corner of the globe, from Mount Everest, the
highest peak, to the Mariana Trench, the deepest trough.

Microplastics are breaking down further into smaller and smaller

pieces. Plastic microfibers, meanwhile, have been found in municipal
drinking water systems and drifting through the air.

Harm to wildlife

Millions of animals are killed by plastics every year, from birds to fish to
other marine organisms. Nearly 700 species, including endangered
ones, are known to have been affected by plastics. Nearly every species
of seabird eats plastics.

Most of the deaths to animals are caused by entanglement or starvation.

Seals, whales, turtles, and other animals are strangled by abandoned
fishing gear or discarded six-pack rings. Microplastics have
been found in more than 100 aquatic species, including fish, shrimp,
and mussels destined for our dinner plates. In many cases, these tiny
bits pass through the digestive system and are expelled without
consequence. But plastics have also been found to have blocked
digestive tracts or pierced organs, causing death. Stomachs so packed
with plastics reduce the urge to eat, causing starvation.

Plastics have been consumed by land-based animals, including

elephants, hyenas, zebras, tigers, camels, cattle, and other large
mammals, in some cases causing death.

Tests have also confirmed liver and cell damage and disruptions
to reproductive systems, prompting some species, such as oysters, to
produce fewer eggs. New research shows that larval fish are eating
nanofibers in the first days of life, raising new questions about the
effects of plastics on fish populations.
Stemming the plastic tide

Once in the ocean, it is difficult—if not impossible—to retrieve plastic

waste. Mechanical systems, such as Mr. Trash Wheel, a litter
interceptor in Maryland’s Baltimore Harbor, can be effective at picking
up large pieces of plastic, such as foam cups and food containers, from
inland waters. But once plastics break down into microplastics and drift
throughout the water column in the open ocean, they are virtually
impossible to recover.

0:48

38 MILLION PIECES OF PLASTIC TRASH COVER THIS REMOTE

ISLAND

The solution is to prevent plastic waste from entering rivers and seas in
the first place, many scientists and conservationists—including
the National Geographic Society —say. This could be accomplished with
improved waste management systems and recycling, better product
design that takes into account the short life of disposable packaging,
and reduction in manufacturing of unnecessary single-use plastics.

Every stage of the plastic lifecycle affects human rights. These

impacts include toxic pollution released in manufacturing, exposure to
toxic additives in plastic consumer products, waste mismanagement,
disinformation campaign about the risks of and solutions to plastic
pollution, and more.
A false solution is one that replaces one kind of unsustainable,
throwaway packaging with another kind of unsustainable, throwaway
packaging. If your candy bar used to be wrapped in plastic you could
only toss in the garbage and now it’s wrapped in paper you can only
toss in the garbage, that’s an example of a false solution.
In another step toward eliminating single-use plastic, Union
Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav on Tuesday launched
“Prakriti”, a mascot to spread greater awareness about small changes
that can be sustainably adopted in the lifestyle for a better
environment.

Various green initiatives were taken by the Ministry of Environment,

Forest and Climate Change and Central Pollution Control Board
(CPCB) to ensure effective Plastic Waste Management (PWM) in the
country, in the presence of the Minister of State, Ashwini Kumar
Choubey and senior officials of the government.

Speaking on the third report by the Inter-governmental Panel on

Climate Change (IPCC), an UN-backed science body, Bhupender
Yadav said, “the report underlines the need for deep and urgent global
emissions reduction and justifies India’s emphasis on equity at all
scales in climate action and sustainable development. We welcome it.”

The report also supports India’s view on the necessity of public finance
for developing countries and the need for scale, scope and speed in
Climate Finance, he said.

“In a drive toward global action on plastic pollution, India will

implement a blanket ban on single-use plastic items such as earbuds
with plastic sticks, plastic flags, plates, glasses, cutlery, etc to be
banned from July 01 2022,” Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB)
tweeted.

To tackle the challenge of plastic pollution, Prime Minister Narendra

Modi announced India’s pledge to phase out Single-Use Plastics
(SUPs) by 2022.
India’s plastic waste management rules 2016 were amended banning
the import of plastic waste SUVs with effect from July 2022 onward.

Taking the momentum forward and stressing the need for active
public participation, the Union Minister also administered the
“Swachh Bharat Harit Bharat Green Pledge” to the gathering.

The dignitaries present along with the students who participated in

the launch took a pledge for the “Swachh Bharat Harit Bharat Green
Pledge.”

He also urged everyone to join in the efforts to beat plastic pollution

and work towards a better future and appreciated the innovative
solutions developed by start-ups entrepreneurs and students in India
Plastic Challenge-Hackathon 2021 highlighting the immense talent
and potential of India’s youth.

In conclusion, the Union Minister said that India sends a message of

hope and optimism that humanity can meet the challenges posed by
climate change and will be a part of the solution to climate change.
10. Brazil 

 
The city of Curitiba in Brazil is known for its recycling scheme. Over
70% of waste produced is recycled. This scheme is no more
expensive than using landfills and gives people of the community jobs.
The recycling program also helps people from lower class
communities, when taking waste to the centres tokens are given which
can then be exchanged for transport and food. Waste is not only
recycled but also reused, old buses are renovated into mobile
schools. 
9. Austria  

 
Austria has one of the highest recycling rates across the globe. 96%
of Austria's population separate their waste into the recyclable
categories. Annually every household sorts an average of a million
tonnes of waste. Since the beginning of 2020 the country has put a
ban on plastic bags. 
8. Canada

 
Recycling in Vancouver is really important, food scraps are banned
from the standard waste bins, and it is mandatory to have this waste in
the green compost bin. This benefits the country because when food
is disposed of properly it releases less carbon dioxide than in landfills. 
7. Wales

 
Wales recycle around 65% of their total waste, they achieve this
through the use of their councils and their citizens. In 17 out of the 22
councils waste is sorted by residents and the remaining areas are
sorted by the council. By 2025 Wales plans to recycle 70% of waste
and the want to turn the remaining 30% processed by waste plants.
The country recycles paper, glass, card, metal cans, and plastic pots,
tubs and trays. This recycling program has led the way in the UK. 
6. United States

 
San Francisco's recycling scheme has 3 different categories:
compost, recycle and landfill. Compost contains: food scraps, paper
and garden trimmings. Recycled contains: paper, card, glass,
aluminum, hard plastics and plastic bags. Not much waste belongs in
the Landfill category, some items that are included are broken glass,
cat litter and ceramics. The state plans on receding their use of
landfills to zero by 2030. 
5. Switzerland

 
Across the city of Zürich in Switzerland there are around 12000
different recycling points. Recycling is either done through door to
door collection or at the recycling collection points. It is mandatory to
recycle in Switzerland and failure to do so can result in fines. 50% of
waste is recycled and the remaining waste is used to produce energy.
None of the waste created in the city or the country ends up in landfills
which reduces greenhouse gas emissions.
4. Singapore

 
The city of Singapore has some of the lowest usage of landfills in the
world. Companies in this country are fully responsible for the waste
they produce and how they dispose of it. Waste is collected in
designated trucks and taken to centres where it is sorted into different
recycling streams. The country only has one landfill which is
predominantly used for un-recyclable plastics, the rest of the waste
which can not be recycled is incinerated.  
3. South Korea

 
During 1995 South Korea food recycling rate was 2%, their rates have
now increased to an impressive 95%. The country was able to reduce
their food waste with the implication of a food waste fee, households
pay a small monthly fee for each bag of biodegradable food scraps. All
waste must be sorted into the specific categories, and must be
flattened or compressed before it can be recycled. Almost everything
can be recycled in South Korea for example: steel, fabric, TVs, Sofas,
and styrofoam.
2. England

 
Leeds in the UK is home to a large recycling scheme called Zero
Waste Leeds. Zero Waste Leeds not only recycles a wide range of
waste, it also reuses unwanted items and creates articles and tips for
recycling. Last year Leeds 12,000 tons of glass waste, this year there
are now 700 bottle banks located across the area. There is also a
project where the public can donate unneeded school uniform and
sports kit items which are then given to families and children that need
them, this not only helps the local community but also reduces the
amount of textile waste. 
1. Germany 

 
Germany is leading the way in waste management and recycling. With
the introduction of their recycling scheme the country has been able to
reduce their total waste by 1 million tons every year. Germany
recycles 70% of all waste produced, this is the most in the world. The
country achieved this through their policies regarding waste,
companies are held responsible to whether or not their packaging is
recyclable, when consumers purchase goods they are then
responsible for the disposal of them. As well as these policies the
country has implicated the Green Dot policy which means all recycled
packaging must be marked and need to be approved to use that mark.
Companies also have to pay a fee when more packaging is used, this
has led to not only less packaging but also thinner glass, paper and
metal. There are 5 different bins used to differentiate waste and
rubbish.