Beat Plastic Pollution: If you can’t reuse it, refuse it!

Shruti Agarwal (India)

Honorable Mention

“The world did not end in a bang or a whisper but rather a scream at a time.” Do you hear the scream?
Almost a century ago, gradually with time, a miracle was born. The miracle we call Plastic. If we ignore a little fact about it, plastic does not seem to pose much of a danger to us. It is waterproof, cheap, sterile, efficient and imperishable. But this ‘little fact’ is not ignorable. The fact being that plastic is non-biodegradable which, in other words, means that it takes up to 1000 years for plastic to decompose.
The process of decomposition of a substance leads it to breakdown into simpler forms so that it can be consumed by the environment. The non-decomposable behaviour of plastic not only makes it a burden for the planet but also causes some serious threats to the environment and the living beings. It greatly affects the biodiversity of the planet, hormonal health in humans, health of all the animals, fertility of soil, purity of oceans and rivers and even our internal organs (in the form of micro plastic). In spite of all this, at present it’s implausible to totally abandon the usage of ubiquitous plastic. It’s everywhere, from the satellites that orbit the universe to the button tucked onto your shirt.
Hence the most immediate solution to the problem is to refuse to use such plastic items which you cannot reuse (i.e. single-use plastic items like polythene-bags, straws, wrapping plastic, disposable cutlery etc.) and to reuse or recycle the ones you can.
 “Plastic takes between 500 and 1000 years to breakdown but somehow we collectively decided to use this tough material for things meant to be thrown away” says ‘Kurzgesagt – In a Nutshell’, a YouTube Channel.
If we do not do this, the ultimate destination of plastic becomes our oceans. Each day over 8 million pieces of plastic find their way to the ocean. This has a devastating effect on the marine life. Also due to the action of water, air and UV rays of the sun, plastic breakdowns into small pieces and leads to the formation of micro-plastic.
According to the Economist only 9% of the world’s plastic waste is recycled. To increase this figure, all countries need to develop a strong plastic-waste management system at each executive level. Once efficiently obtained, plastic can do wonders. We can use the negative aspects of plastic and turn them into the positives. Recycled plastic can be used to make new plastic products without bringing more plastic into the mainstream; it can be used for the construction of roads and footpaths; we can make fuel and even crude oil from it! But to achieve cost efficient ways to do all this, the concerned authorities have to encourage and finance research in this area.
At the level of an individual we can initiate by refusing to use straws and disposable cups in a cafe, by carrying our own cloth/paper bag while shopping, carrying our own coffee mug  to office/workplace for coffee or by using wrapping-paper instead of a wrapping plastic for wrapping a gift. But this is not enough. Authorities have to intervene and take appropriate steps. There are five ways it can be done.
First: The carrot-and-stick policy. Punishments and incentives should be given to the dutiful and the irresponsible citizens respectively. Authorities can buy plastic at reasonable prices so that the people are motivated to sell plastic items instead of throwing them away.
Second:  Producers manufacture single-use plastic because consumers demand for it and consumers consume single-use plastic because producers produce it. It’s like a snake biting its own tale. In this case the authorities have to capture both the mouth and the tale of the snake. This means that regulation have to be implemented both at the production and the consumption level.
Third: But before the authorities straightaway ban the consumption/production of plastic, they need to make the substitute of it easily available in the market.
Fourth: Cotton or jute bags cannot be used to carry or hold food or liquid around. Research has to be encouraged in such matters.
Fifth: We need to work on the psychology of the people to make the society more dutiful towards their surroundings. Schools should deeply inhibit the values of taking care of the environment in its pupil and encourage them to spread the message to their families and friends.
All these measures are interconnected but the most important thing is that we all, irrespective of our nationality and race, have to stand together hand-in-hand, for the cause, to make this world a better place to live in.
Together we can Beat Plastic Pollution.