IINTRODUCTION
Since the days of ancient we
have been dumping our trash at sea. Back in those days, the oceans could easily
handle the waste, but today, both the nature and the quantity of trash have
changed. Today, what gets tossed overboard can have a deadly impact on marine
life and cause problems for other boaters.
Plastic, the wonder material
that we use for everything, is perhaps the most harmful of this trash because
it does not readily break down in nature. In fact, the plastic that goes over
the side today may still be around in hundreds of years to foul up the fishing
gear, boat propellers, and beaches of future generations, not to mention what
it will do to countless generations of marine life and seabirds that eat it or
get tangled up in it.
Careless disposal of
plastics can have dire consequences. The six-pack ring, which relieves us of
having to juggle six cans at once, can become a deadly noose for a bird or
fish. A plastic bag looks like a tasty jellyfish to an indiscriminate feeder
like the sea turtle, but plastic is indigestible. It can choke, block the
intestines of, or cause infection in those animals that consume it. A plastic
bag can also clog an outboard engine's cooling system. Lost or discarded
monofilament fishing line can foul propellers, destroying oil seals and lower
units on engines, or it can become an entangling web for fish, seabirds, and
marine mammals.
According to the Center for
Marine Conservation, over 25,000 pieces of fishing line were collected from Indian
beaches during the 1996 annual beach cleanup, and at least 40% of all animal
entanglements reported during the cleanups involved fishing line.
Every day, more and more
plastic is accumulating in our oceans. Recreational boaters are not the only
group that improperly disposes of plastic refuse at sea. Plastics also enter
the marine environment from sewage outfalls, merchant shipping, commercial
fishing operations, and beachgoers.
Plastics pose a serious
enough threat to the marine environment that, in 1987, Congress enacted the
Marine Plastic Pollution Research and Control Act. This law prohibits the
dumping of plastics in all over the country waters and applies to all
watercraft -- from the smallest recreational boat to the largest commercial
ship. In addition, marinas are required to maintain adequate facilities for the
disposal of refuse regulated under this act.
You can do something to reduce plastic pollution.
You can do something to reduce plastic pollution.
You Make it a rule that no
trash goes overboard, especially old fishing line, which is particularly
hazardous to marine life.
You Substitute reusable
containers and other items for disposable ones to reduce the volume of trash.
You Stow your trash for proper disposal in port.
Plastic really is fantastic.
The problem is improper disposal. Remember that a careless moment may last
for generations.
Plastic is the general
common term for a wide range of synthetic or semi synthetic organic amorphous
solid materials suitable for the manufacture of industrial products. Plastics
are typically polymers of high molecular weight, and may contain other substances
to improve performance and/or reduce costs.
The word Plastic derives
from the Greek (plastikos), “fit for moulding”, from (plastos)
“moulded”. It refers to their malleability or plasticity during manufacture
that allows them to be cast, pressed, or extruded into an enormous variety of
shapes – such as films, fibres, plates, tubes, bottles, boxes, and much more.
Plastic Pollution
Plastic is one of the few
new chemical materials which pose environmental problem. Polyethylene,
polyvinyl chloride, polystyrene is largely used in the manufacture of plastics.
20% of solid municipal
wastes in India are plastic. Non-degradable plastics accumulate at the rate of
25 million tonnes per year. According to an estimate more than 100 million
tonnes of plastic is produced every year all over the world. In India use of
plastic is 3 kg per person per year
Plastic Problems
Plastics are used because
they are easy and cheap to make and they can last a long time. Urbanisation has
added to the plastic pollution in concentrated form in cities. Plastic does not
decompose, and requires high energy ultra-violet light to break down.
Plastic thrown on land can
enter into drainage lines and chokes them resulting into floods in local areas
in cities as experienced in Mumbai, India in 1998. It was claimed in one of the
programmes on TV Channel that eating plastic bags results in death of 100
cattle’s per day in U.P. in India. In stomach of one dead cow, as much as 35 kg
of plastic was found.
More than 90% of the
articles found on the sea beaches contained plastic. The plastic rubbish found
on beaches near urban areas tends to originate from use on land, such as
packaging material used to wrap around other goods. On remote beaches the
rubbish tends to have come from ships, such as fishing equipment used in the
fishing industry.
This plastic can affect marine wildlife in two important
ways: by entangling creatures, and by being eaten. Aquatic animals mistake
floating transparent plastic bags for jellyfish and eat them. A recent US
report concluded that more than 100000 marine mammals die each year in the
world’s oceans by eating or becoming entangled in plastic rubbish, and the
position is worsening World-wide, 75 marine bird species are known to eat
plastic articles.
Health hazards of plastic
A chemical found in plastics
used in water bottles, food cans and even dental fillings, could pose a serious
threat to the user’s health, researchers claim.
Research on lab animals has
linked the chemical to prostate enlargement, declined testosterone,
pre-cancerous breast cells, prostate cancer, changes to the genital tract,
early puberty in females and hyperactivity.
It also acts as an endocrine
disruptor meaning it can interfere with the hormone system.
Precautions
“Ideally, the best methods
of reuse are ways that will keep these plastics out of the landfill the
longest.”
Plastic water and soft drink
bottles are sold with the intention of single use, then recycling, they can be
safely reused if cleaned and handled properly. The keys are to ensure that the
bottle is not damaged, has been thoroughly cleaned before each use, and is
filled with clean tap water.
Different ways to reuse the plastic bags:
· Use them to dust off out-of-season on shoes
or seasonal articles.
· Use the bags as gloves to clean dustbins,
or using pesticides.
· When packing a suitcase, use them to keep
shoes from soiling clothes and dirty things from clean ones.
· To protect small outdoor plants from rain
or frost at night, cover them with bags and tie the handles tightly around the
pots. Be sure to take the bags off in the morning.
· Use as a barrier between you and your
trash: for those with infrequent trash pickups, use as an extra layer for
strong smelling kitchen waste. Or replace trash bags: use for the bathroom, the
car, or even to replace kitchen trash bags.
· Use as over dirty shoes to avoid tracking
mud, or to put over shoes while doing gardening.
· Ask stores if they will take the bags back.
Encourage your local retailer to do the same.
· For those who are interested in something a
little bit more long lasting, consider learning how to craft with plastic bags,
like carpet, shopping bags.
Reuse of Plastic Container
Clean plastic food containers make great
toys for your child/children.
Use plastic food containers to store
leftovers in the freezer.
They could be used as great lunch
containers in kids’ school lunches.
Use as drawer organizers. They can round up
jewellery, extra buttons, bobby pins, safety pins, and business cards,
whatever you've got.
Can be use as wrapping gift items /
parcels.
Can be modified to make pots for starting
seedlings.
Bigger containers work well to hold food
scraps or dustbins.
Small and medium sized plastic containers
are great for travel containers for your home-made baby food and
snacks.
Best Practice
- Start
saying NO to carry bag when you can carry things in your hand.
- Don’t
forget to carry a cloth bag from home when you are heading for a purchase.
- Keep
a set of bags always in your bike/car.
- Avoid
packing goods in multiple plastics which can packed in a single.
- You
can use thick/black plastic which can be recycled.
- Recycle
a carry bag for at least 10 times before you throw
CONCLUSION
“It is better to be safe than sorry”. So a better idea
will be to avoid this plastic as far as we possibly can.
These bags should be re-used as many times as possible to
avoid entering the waste stream, but ultimately avoiding plastics all together
is crucial to reduce our footprint on this earth. Until it becomes second
nature, REUSE is MUST.
If we neglect this today, our tomorrow might be in a
problem. Realise the importance of using less plastics
Make it a Habit and a Rule
"one person can save at least 10 to 15 plastics in a week...."
