One of the biggest challenges that India currently faces is that of waste management. It is unfortunate that in spite of our towns and cities literally drowning in garbage pollution, its management wasn't seen an important issue in the recently concluded national elections. We continue to struggle with the problem with no solution in sight. A recent social media post about an elephant in front of a mountain of plastic once again triggered a conversation around the issue.
With garbage dumps in cities and towns overflowing, unscrupulous agencies are now dumping waste wherever convenient including forest lands. This ruins the area, disrupts the ecological balance and results in wild animals ingesting waste that humans produce.
It overflows out of garbage tips, lines the roads, clogs drains, fills up ditches; plastic waste is simply everywhere.
Plastic waste is everywhere, including some of the most picturesque and historic of locations. The mountainsides of beautiful hill stations, priceless historical monuments and heritage buildings – nothing is safe from the litter and garbage we produce.
Our consumption patterns threaten to literally consume us. Plastic is entering the food chain and killing not only wildlife but also humans; being impossible to get rid of.
In the past we have seen plastic bans in various parts of the country which rarely seem to make any kind of difference. There seems to be some fear of being fined for using plastic for a limited period and then it’s business as usual.
The fact is that nothing will make a difference unless we see actual behaviour change and that can only come spontaneously from the people. This can happen when people refuse to accept single-use bags, reject products with unnecessary extra packaging, carry their own bags when they shop and adopt the principles of reduce-recycle-reuse in everyday life.
While some suggested going back to cloth bags and paper cones to bring home groceries, grain and other items, some suggested bioplastics. These are derived from agricultural byproducts, biomass, vegetable fats, wood chips, straw, cornstarch, tapioca, sugarcane, food waste etc.
Bioplastics are not petroleum based and are supposed to be much more easily biodegradable than conventional plastic. Some retailers and manufacturers are already embracing bio-plastics but viability on a larger scale is still in question.
Using reusable bags, choosing products with care, refusing single-use plastic bags – even if this causes us some inconvenience - separating garbage, reverting to traditional steel and glass containers, refusing to use disposable plates, cups and cutlery… these are things we can all do. We can all decide to make a few lifestyle modifications to reduce the amount of plastic waste that we produce. Being a little thoughtful and vigilant can make a real difference to us and to that elephant.
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