All World
Gayatri Pariwar

Everyone knows that polythene is harmful. Many awareness campaigns have been organized to educate people about the harms of polythene. Socially active groups have been organizing rallies and educating consumers and shopkeepers in the markets. Government officials have also been conducting raids, confiscating material, and imposing fines on people who don’t comply. Yet its usage is quite rampant The irony is that though everyone knows and agrees that polythene is very harmful, the affinity to polythene is so strong that it keeps on reaching consumers in some form or the other, whether in the form of milk packets or new clothes wrapped in polythene packs or in the form of packets of chips, biscuits or snacks. When everything from curd, butter milk and many other milk products are all packed and sold in polythene then how is it possible to check its usage? Even if people stop using carry bags made from polythene, it reaches them as wrappers of packed food items. How can this be stopped is a question worth pondering about?

Polythene is not just destroying our today; it is ready to destroy our future as well. It lies around as heaps of garbage and does not disintegrate into manure. Wherever it gets accumulated, it turns the land infertile. When cattle eat polythene it accumulates in the stomach and kills them. It gets into pipelines and blocks them. A big portion of the budget of city municipal corporations goes into cleaning of drain and sewer lines which get choked due to heaps of polythene. But people still carelessly strew them as they don’t have to personally clean these drains. Hundreds of cities in different states of our country have tried imposing complete ban on polythene, but the results have not been satisfactory. This is because there is no really good alternative available.

Polythene is a petrochemical which is deadly both for humans as well as animals. Poor quality polythene causes skin and respiratory diseases and can also lead to cancer. Because it does not disintegrate, it is slowly destroying the fertility of soil by making it poisonous. It forms a layer in the soil, reducing its capacity to absorb water, which then reduces the ground water table.At temples, historical heritage places, gardens, and national parks, in rallies and processions, polythene packets and bags are misused rampantly. The entire beauty of our country is getting eclipsed by polythene.

During the past two decades, polythene has become a source of income for more than 20 lakh people who work on its production, sales, or collecting and recycling them. Other synthetic bags that are now being introduced for usage in the markets are not only more expensive, they are not so strong as well. At some places, paper bags and envelopes are being used but these are not so convenient as they tear easily, cannot take much load and of course can’t be used to carry liquids. Cloth bags are also used but they cannot replace polythene fully because in the supply of milk, juice and other liquids, cloth cannot be used.

However, for these, containers of aluminium or some other alloy may have to be used. To reduce the harm caused by synthetic plastic, development of bio-plastics can be a good alternative. Bioplastics are made from biodegradable objects like sugar, beet root, corn etc. Some (not all) bioplastics are created to be biodegradable. These biodegradable plastics are used in packaging and catering industry for creating disposable items like crockery, cutlery, plates, cups etc. These plastics are also used for making bio-dustbins which turn into manure along with the food waste and garbage that is deposited in them.

Bioplastics are used to create containers for storing fruits and vegetables. Bottles for milk and cold drinks, and thick sheets for storing fruits and vegetables are also made from these. After recycling they can also be used for making covers for mobile phones, decorative items, fuel pipes, water pipes etc. A new type of electrically conductive bioplastic is also being developed which could be used later for supplying electricity.

Production and usage of bioplastic is being regarded as a good and sustainable medium because, for the source of carbon it is less dependent on fossil fuel and when it disintegrates it releases much lesser amount of greenhouse gases. Compared to plastics produced from petroleum oil, it hardly generates any toxic waste. So a new era has set in with the creation of bioplastics in the packaging technology and industry.

Despite these encouraging efforts, the plastic waste that is spread everywhere in our country also needs to be properly managed. One good experiment carried out in Bengaluru can be quite helpful for people who earn some money by collecting plastic waste. In this, waste polythene bags are mixed with other waste and are converted into manure. In Himachal Pradesh, these bags are mixed with tar to make roads. In Germany plastic waste is used to generate electricity as well. DSVV has also pioneered a new process of recycling paper and other substances using simple method. The method can be learned by Gayatri Pariwar parijans or others by visiting DSVV.

There is a clear possibility that once bioplastics present themselves as good alternatives to petroleum based plastics, a reduction in usage of these synthetic materials will happen provided entire public becomes aware of them and gets ready to adopt them. But at the same time, attention has to be given to properly dispose of all the petroleum based plastic produced till now so that our neighbourhood remains clean and the environment also remains protected.