Reducing your plastic footprint It’s time to wean away from single-use.
The world is too plastic-dependent to expect a complete ban on the mouldable ‘wonder’ polymer. Indeed, any government would think twice before making such a rash decision. This is because plastic has varied uses, including in medical devices, automobile spare parts, plumbing, sewage systems, packaging, construction material, furniture, toys, shopping bags, clothes, cosmetics and much more. And since a cheaper and viable alternative is not yet on the horizon, annual global plastic production is estimated to reach 1.3 billion tonnes by 2060. However, a serious effort is being made to cut its consumption.
Given this, if you still wish to live in a plastic-free world, you must have access to a machine which can transport you back to a time before Belgian American chemist Leo Baekeland created Bakelite, the first synthetic mass-produced plastic in 1907. Or perhaps, to avoid the ubiquitous plastic bags that have invaded our homes and bazaars, you may wish to go back to the early 1960s before Swedish engineer Sten Gustaf Thulin, working for Celloplast, patented the one-piece polyethene shopping bag, which became a rage across the world.
Unfortunately, SpaceX and Elon Musk have yet to offer time travel into the past. So, you have no option but to live in the reality of the present, which is grim when it comes to plastic. A study by Nature magazine last year ranked India as the highest plastic polluter in the world, above China. The study estimated that India emits 9.3 million metric tonnes of plastic annually and is responsible for one-fifth of global emissions. Plastic emissions include materials that have moved from controlled systems for waste, managed or mismanaged, to the environment where they are under no control.
Much of the plastic waste generated in India (5.8 million tonnes) is incinerated, releasing toxic pollutants into the air that cause respiratory and other health problems. Plastic waste is also dumped randomly at street corners or in informal landfills. It either leaches harmful chemicals into the ground or finds its way to drains, waterways, rivers and the sea. According to the UNEP, unlike other materials, plastic does not biodegrade for centuries, and its pollution chokes marine wildlife, damages soil and poisons groundwater, and can cause health damage, including respiratory illnesses, endocrine disruption and cancer.
Given the gravity of the situation, what can the average citizen do when systemic reform is what is called for? Surely, he or she cannot be expected to stop powerful corporations from producing plastic. However, they can control consumption and reduce their plastic footprint at the individual level. The less plastic we use, the better.
So where does one start? The low-hanging and important fruit here is single-use plastic. This includes plastic bottles, shopping bags, straws, cups, glasses, plates and cutlery, wrapping paper, cling films, etc. Single-use plastic accounts for 43 per cent of India’s total plastic waste despite a July 2022 government ban that forbids the manufacture, distribution, stocking, sale, and use of 19 select single-use plastic items, including cups and cutlery. Carry bags of less than 120 microns also came under the ban.
The enforcement of the regulation has not been as effective as envisaged because single-use plastic is still very much around, perhaps because there is no suitable and cheap alternative or because of pressure from business lobbies.
Whatever the reason, we can do our bit by avoiding single-use plastic items as much as possible. How do you go about this task? To start with, carry a reusable cloth bag when you go shopping. This ensures you don’t come home with half a dozen use-and-throw small plastic bags in a larger bag. Collecting them after your weekly shopping does not make sense because you can do nothing with the bags other than throw them into the garbage can, from where they will go to the local garbage dump and then to a landfill.
Similarly, you could insist on soft drinks bottled in glass rather than plastic bottles. Carrying your water in a glass bottle or a flask ensures you don’t have to buy water in a single-use plastic bottle. Plastic plates, cups and cutlery, though convenient, must be avoided. Individual choice is key to reducing your plastic footprint, and you must bring about a behavioural change in your attitude towards single-use plastic.
In your kitchen, you could store cereals, pulses and sugar in glass or steel containers. That would be a lot better than the cheaper plastic option. Small decisions like that do make a difference. For example, using a wooden peg to hang out clothes to dry would be far more environment-friendly than the plastic alternative.
Another source of concern is microplastics, defined as any plastic less than 5mm in length. However, they can be microscopic, one nanometer in length. Microplastics are found in cosmetics, clothing, food packaging, and construction. They can also be formed during plastic degradation. It is estimated that 35 per cent of all ocean microplastics come from erosion of synthetic textiles like polyester, acrylic or nylon-based clothing. These particles are released during the washing process when they go through the drainage system and end up in rivers and seas. An average wash load releases over 700,000 nano fibres per wash.
Microplastics can be harmful to humans, animals and marine creatures because they release toxic chemicals that can disrupt and impact body functions. Invisible to the naked eye, it can be unknowingly ingested and can cause much harm. This is why one must avoid cosmetics that contain microplastics and synthetic clothing.
It is all about making wise choices. You may not always be able to avoid plastic. But when you can, opt for a tested and natural alternative. You will not regret it.
The writer is a senior journalist who writes on environmental issues
