What is plastic waste? Importance of Plastic Waste Management? What are the consequences of plastic waste? How to manage plastic waste?   

                                                                         

                                                                                   

                     

Plastic play a very vital role in our day to day life & has helped us to make our life quite simple an easy.

Right from alarm/milk packets to tiffin’s/water bottles/travelling vehicle to credit cards/pen, its everywhere around us & once we use above things it is considered in to plastic waste.

On an average plastic makes around 12% of Municipal Solid Waste [MSW] of total. As majority of the waste is not recycled, following issues have been highlighted:-

       1)    Impact on Environment  

       2)    Impact on Life

IMPACT ON ENVIRONMENT:-

One of the major toxic pollutants of present time is PLASTIC. It cannot be disposed of safely as during its manufacturing as it is composed of harmful gases which leads to release harmful gases like neurotoxic, harmone affecting chemicals are released in environment.

Also after being in to usage it cannot be dispose off, as it is non bio degradable due to which it leads to polluting the water, air & is also been consumed by animal on large scale.

Some of the major compounds are:-

           1)    vinyl chloride (in PVC)

           2)    dioxins (in PVC)

           3)    benzene (in polystyrene)

           4)    bisphenol-A, or BPA (in polycarbonate).

 Many of these are persistent organic pollutants (POPs)—some of the most damaging toxins on the planet.

As plastic being durable/cheap & easily available its use is on very regular basis & also they contain high level of toxicity. Due to their, this deadly combination whenever they are release into the environment it affects the entire ecological system.

IMPACT ON LIFE:-

As plastic contains a cluster of harmful gases they are a real threat to all the living being on the planet  whenever they come in contact with it. The harmful effects of plastic on aquatic life are devastating, and accelerating. The impacts of plastic waste on our health and the environment are increasing day on day basis. Not only do the plastic waste in marine cause problem but also the plastic waste which is been piled up in the landfill causes a serious problem to our ecological system. Ingestion of plastic waste has been documented in a number of species, almost all individuals contain ingested plastic including sea birds, fish, turtles, mussels and mammals. Clearly different species ingest different types and sizes of plastic debris.

Many animals mistake plastic waste for prey, for example, fish can confuse plastic pellets for plankton, birds may mistake pieces of plastic for cuttlefish or other prey. There are several chemicals within plastic material itself that have been added to give it certain properties such as Bisphenol A, phthalates and flame retardants. These all have known negative effects on human and animal health, mainly affecting the endocrine system. There are also toxic monomers, which have been linked to cancer and reproductive problems.
Plastic waste also has the ability to attract contaminants, such as persistent organic pollutants (POPs). Plastic could potentially transport these chemicals to otherwise clean environments and, when ingested by wildlife, plastic could cause the transfer of chemicals into the organism’s system.

Since, the properties of plastic is such that even if we throw it after our use it will still stay in environment for a very long time & if it reaches the ocean it will float on the surface leading to problem to aquatic animal.

HOW TO MANAGE PLASTIC WASTE:-

Following are the ways through which we can manage our plastic waste effectively & help our planet from it.

    1)    Plastic Recycling: Once of the most effective way is to recycle all the plastic            collected in the land fill. Which will lead to a better utilization of resources & also the after recycling the product produced can be used in environment. Many developed countries have been using this practices & now the developing countries has started following the same.

     2)    Ban on manufacturing/selling of plastic : Many states has started banning both manufacturing as well as selling & most recently being MAHARASHTRA  which has completely banned plastic. We need more and more states to come forward with such bold steps.

    3)    Reusable Bags : Best Alternative for plastic, as it can be used in most of the replacement of plastic & also they are reusable.

      4)    Implementing best practices on management of plastic waste.

·       Reduce usage of straw/gums.

·       Buy in boxes & not in containers.

·        Reuse plastic bottles & caps.

·       While going for outing/shopping or carrying your left over do carry your own container.

·       Ban the usage of plastic ware.

·       Use cloth diaper instead of disposable ones.

·       Don’t buy juices in plastic bottles.

And various other ways are there through which we can reduce our dependency on plastic & prevent our environment.