Effects of Single Use Plastic
Effects of Single-Use Plastic
We cannot deny the fact that plastic is a big menace for various reasons. Waste in tonnes is dumped in landfills or in oceans where slowly they break down into microplastics that enter the body of marine animals or terrestrial animals. The problem with daily plastic items is that they are cheaply available and their alternatives are far more expensive than it. Also, they are convenient and can be easily discarded after one use which makes them a perfect choice for one use but they are very harmful.
When the plastic we throw ends up in a landfill, we should not assume that they are harmless. They enter the food chain via animals when they accidentally ingest them. Here are some common single-use plastic examples that we use in our daily life:
- Plastic straws
- Plastic drink stirrers
- Helium balloons
- Plastic cotton buds
- Coffee cups & lids
- Plastic cutlery
- Plastic cups
- Plastic containers
- Plastic plates
As more and more people opt to reduce the usage of single-use plastic, it reduces the problems related to environmental conditions.
Statistics on Single-use plastic
Approximately around 380 million tons of plastic are produced yearly. Per-minute humans use 1.2 million plastic bottles and 91% of plastic is not recycled. Globally 500 billion plastic cups are used every year. Every year 14 million tons of plastic waste end up in our oceans. All this happens because many countries do not have the proper infrastructure to deal with plastic pollution.
What could be the possible steps to deal with Single-Use Plastic?
The havoc created by single-use plastic can be spine-chilling but definitely, we can make some changes that will help us to change the direction. Here are a few things which we can do about it:
- Start taking cloth bags with you instead of asking for plastic bags
- Avoid as much use of non-recycled plastic as possible
- Recycle as much as you can and support establishments that can do the same for you.
- Try to buy items in bulk
- Try to take your containers outside.
Ban of Single-Use Plastic in India
The Union Environment Ministry announced a ban on single-use plastics in August 2021, and it went into force on July 1, 2022.
Disposable plastics like straws, cutlery, earphones, cigarette packs, and plastic balloon sticks have all been banned in less than a week.
In India, the second-most populated nation in the world, plastic trash has grown to be a substantial causing pollution, and the country's rapid economic development has increased consumer demand for goods that include single-use plastic items like straws and disposable cutlery.
That’s why to reduce the usage of single-use plastic, the government has selected some items and banned them.
What you can do with single-use plastic?
If you want to recycle single-use plastic, then you can recycle it with Scrapbuk. The goal of Scrapbuk is to end the waste management crisis in India. Anyone can use a mobile app to arrange a hassle-free scrap pickup, which will be handled by the knowledgeable and trusted pickup team at Scrapbuk.
Scrapbuk employs strategies to maintain a hygienic exchange method and stress the safety and wellbeing of all parties involved. In the Tricity, Scrapbuk has been aggressively recycling scrap from Panchkula, Mohali, and Chandigarh. With Scrapbuk's expansion, we intend to provide a practical service that offers a novel answer to India's rising issue of trash mismanagement.
Conclusion
We hope that this blog has given you some useful information regarding single-use plastic. There are many waste management firms to choose from, and we hope you find one that best suits your needs.