Excessive use of plastic

 

                                              

The use of plastics is deeply embedded in our daily lives, in everything from grocery bags and cutlery to water bottles and sandwich wrap. But the quest for convenience has gone too far and we are failing to use plastics efficiently, wasting valuable resources and harming the environment.

We all are aware of how much our natural environment is getting cluttered and is already on the verge of losing its balance owing to the so-called modernization and development. The increasing use of resources and polluting agents have disturbed the natural form of the ecosystem, inflicting damage to the living organisms and the planet. The on-the-go lifestyle of people today is demanding more and more of disposable products, contributing a lot to the amount of garbage produced on daily basis. One of the primary culprits of this is plastic, which causes great harm to the environment and is the major contributor to the rising levels of land pollution. Items on sale in shops are mostly packaged in plastic containers. On top of this, most carrying bags offered at the cashier’s register are also plastic in nature. Statistically, the food packaging accounts for nearly 70% of all household trash and waste that eventually end up in landfills.

 

 

The fact that plastics are now a serious headache for the planet is proved by the fact that more and more governments are proposing measures to reduce their impact on the environment. In fact, in 2021 Europe will ban the sale of single-use plastics such as drinking straws, cutlery or cotton buds within its borders. To put the magnitude of the problem into context, let's review some objective data:

• Every year, 500 billion plastic bottles are produced worldwide.^*
• In 2020 we will generate more than 500 million tonnes of plastic, 900% more than in 1980.^*
• Plastic in the ocean is already more than 150 million tons of waste.^**
• By 2050, they could contain more plastics than fish.^***
• Each year around eight million tons of plastic ends up in our seas and oceans.

Here are five things YOU can do—starting TODAY ­—to end plastic pollution­­:

 

Say NO to Plastic Bags ​

There are an estimated 1 million plastic bags used every minute, and a single plastic bag can take 1,000 years to degrade.

Bottle your Own Water 

Did you know that humans now buy an estimated million plastic bottles per minute, and that most of this plastic is not recycled ? Plastic bottles –typically made from polyethylene terephthalate (Pet) –take over 400 years to naturally decompose.

Skip Plastic Straws 

Plastic straws are among the top items of marine plastics found around the world, and they’re generally not recyclable. As a customer, use your voice at restaurants, cafes and eateries to refuse straws and plastic stirrer

Avoid Plastic Cutlery 

Ordering take-out? Tell the vendor to skip the plastic cutlery. Catering events? Use reusable cutlery (and plates and cups). France became the first country to pass a law that will go into effect by 2020 to ban plastic plates

Make Better Choices at Home 

Make Green choices at home in choosing products with less plastic packaging. Move away from the throwaway culture. Avoid cosmetics and personal hygiene products with microbeads.  Microbeads, a type of microplastic, are the little dots in your toothpaste, and facial scrubs. New research shows increasing amounts of damage from microbeads to marine life, leading to potential harm to human health.