PLASTIC WASTE.

 I have data of plastic waste for 2018. As per that since the early 1950’s more than 830 crore tons of plastic has been produced. Out of that 60% has ended up as plastic waste, and that is a massive 500 crore tons. This much waste is available in the environment to pollute it.

More than 99% are derived from Oil, Natural gas and Coal all of which are non renewable. If the current trend of plastic consumption continues then by the year 2050 20% of the consumption of those 3 resources would be used only for producing plastics.

There are too many single use plastic items everywhere. These are:

1.     PET (Polyethylene Terephthalate) water bottles, dispensing containers & biscuit trays.

2.     HDPE ( High Density Polyethylene) shampoo bottles, freezer bags, ice cream containers.

3.     LDPE ( Low Density Polyethylene) bags, trays, containers, food packaging film.

4.     PP (Polypropylene) potato chip bags, microwave dishes, ice cream tubs, bottle caps.

5.     PS (Polystyrene) Cutlery, plates, cups.

6.     EPS (Expanded Polystyrene) protective packaging, hot drink cups. 

Only 9% of all the plastic waste produced since inception has been recycled and 12% has been incinerated but the rest 79% has accumulated in the environment.

Cigarette butts whose filters contain tiny plastic fibers were the most common plastic waste found in the environment. Drink bottles, bottle caps, food wrappers, grocery bags, straws and stirrers are the next most common items.

Some 80 lakh tons of plastic waste gets into the sea every year through the rivers.

The durability of plastic also makes them hard to degrade. They do not disappear and only get smaller with time of hundreds of years or more. Finally these small plastic particles are swallowed by animals and fish mistaking them for food. In turn when we eat them, the plastic waste gets into us as well.

Plastic wastes clog drains and make them act as breeding ground for pests. The irony is, at the current trends of plastic consumption, by the year 2050 our oceans would contain more plastic waste tan fish in tonnage.

Surprisingly the highest amount of plastic waste does not come from the USA or the European countries but from Asia. The US and the European countries do excellent plastic waste management and therefore prevent a lot of plastic pollution.