Say No to Plastic

- October 21, 2019

Say No to Plastic

Today's blog is based on "Say No to Plastic". We are living in a plastic world. A recent research estimates show that around 2 million plastic bags are used every minute around the world, with less than 3% being recycled globally. A 2014 UNEP (United Nations Environment Program) report estimates about10 to 20 million tons of plastic finding its way into the world’s oceans each year. Do you know that so much plastic is dumped into the sea each year that it would fill five carrier bags for every foot of coastline on the planet, scientists have warned. Around 8 million tons of plastic bottles, bags, toys, and other plastic rubbish ends up in the plastic1world’s oceans each year.

There are some reasons to say no to Plastic.

01. Plastic bags are made from non-renewable resources and contribute to climate change.

The majority of plastic bags are made of polypropylene, which causes pollution all its life – from manufacturing to disposal. Its production uses up to 8% of our oil resource and is harmful to the environment and remains toxic to the environment after you throw it away. The average lifespan of each plastic bag is about 12 minutes.

02. Plastic bags pollute our land and water.

Because they are lightweight, they can travel long distances by wind and water. Eventually, they end up in the world’s oceans. They are not biodegradable. Instead, the plastic breaks up into tiny little pieces that end up in the ocean and are often mistaken for food by animals such as birds, fish, and marine mammals. Thousands of marine animals choke and die from ingesting this plastic, and many more are being slowly poisoned by the dioxin and other pollutants introduced by this mass of plastic. Animals can also easily become entangled in this plastic. Approximately 46,000-1,000,000 plastic fragments are floating within every square mile of the globe's oceans.

03. Plastic bags are harmful to human health.

There are different types of ways that plastic is dangerous for humans.

Most plastic fragments in the oceans like plastic bags have some pollutants such as PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyl) together with PAHs (Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons).

Once marine animals eat plastic the materials bio-accumulates in their system as they are exposed to them in the ocean waters. When people eat these animals they consume all these chemicals affecting their health that could develop into cancers or other serious conditions.

04. Plastic bags are costly to pay for and to clean up.

While we may not pay for plastic bags directly when we go shopping, they are anything but “free.” Plastic bags cost about 3-5 cents each, and that cost is then incorporated into prices of the items sold at stores. It’s estimated that Americans use over 380 billion plastic bags and wraps a year. Nationwide, litter cleans up efforts amount to as much as $11 billion per year. Even though not all of that is from disposable bags. The cost of plastic bag cleanup is about 17 cents per bag, and on average, taxpayers end up paying about $88 per year just on plastic bag waste.

05. Plastic bags are not easy to recycle.

Most recycling facilities cannot recycle plastic bags and therefore do not accept them. As a result, the actual recycling rate for plastic bags is about 5%. Even if we did recycle more plastic bags, these materials still end up in oceans and landfills, where they are still toxic. One trillion plastic bags are used annually and approximately eight million metric tons of plastic waste end up in the world’s oceans each year.

Let’s take an oath in this Year to gradually get rid of our plastic addiction. Let us start using reusable baskets and reusable tote bags, let us curb the need for plastic bags. There are innovative people out there, who already have smart solutions for everything.

हम सब को प्लास्टिक का उपयोग बंद करना होगा। आज ही है विश्व के हर घर में चाहे वह गरीब हो या अमीर हो पाया जाता है इसका बढ़ता उपयोग चिंता का विषय है। इससे जहरीला और हानिकारक पदार्थ निकलता रहता है जिससे कैंसर जैसी भयानक बीमारियां हो सकती है।