Terrible facts and figures of one of the paramount environmental issues of plastic pollution are spread all over the internet, newspaper, social media, blogs, articles, etc. The population of an environmentalist is increasing rapidly. Public awareness campaigns and government policies are also directing towards a sustainable future.
Whereas, all kinds of plastic consumption and production are growing enormously and so as plastic pollution. Difficult to digest?
The plastic pollution figures are also translated into publicly understandable figures like the amount the same as some thousands of football ground, pile/mountain/pyramid the same as the size of the world’s tallest building, etc. It has even reached inside the human body as microplastics. The figures are really freighting, but are we really frightened? Are we making any effort directly or indirectly to stop or solve the issue?
We need to understand that whatever happens to the Earth, environment and society, it directly or indirectly affects human comfort and even human life. If we take care of these things, we are indirectly taking care of ourselves only. How long can we withstand without oxygen? which directly comes from trees only. We need to know that how much does a day of the oxygen supply through ventilator costs in the hospital, that we are using for free entire life. The second thing is food, we are contaminating or killing our own food by microplastic and other means. So, who really we are killing or saving? the environment or ourselves?
Previously, we were unaware of the significance of the consequences of plastic waste and we were using it because it was durable, inexpensive, easily available and easy to manufacture. Now we have seen the disastrous consequences of plastic pollution. But it turns out that half of the plastics ever produced have been manufactured in the last 15 years. Moreover, the rate of manufacturing plastic is growing every year. Obviously, it is to improve the comforts of human life; but at what cost, are we comforting our life? Are we still unaware?
Why there is so much contrast between our expression towards the environment and actual lifestyle.
It may be called as plastic sympathy, this plastic word would not leave us any time.
During the Covid-19 pandemic, the plastic lobby is taking advantage by creating travesty of plastic,
the rapid growth in the production of medical textile products and other single-use plastic products as a hygienic option, just to make a little more profit. Don’t we know the consequences? All the plastic that we are using is not going to disappear anywhere within at least a thousand years. Are we resolving this pandemic to invite a new pandemic of worst and gigantic?; where we would not even have fresh air to breathe and clean food to eat. Is it reasonable?
Here, it is not the case that we do not have any options or solutions. There are several options available to replace single-use plastic or to minimize plastic waste, which of course are not so economical and easy! When plastic was invented, it was also very expensive material; because of the unavailability of technology & downstream industry, fewer industries, tiny consumption. So, every new technology has the same pattern at the start. Eventually, the solutions to the terrible issue might never be the easiest one.