The next 400 years // poly bags

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A friend, true lover of nature, rejected the lures of five - star comfort to stay at a forest lodge located deep in one of the most popular jungles in our country. The cup of tea, offered in a plastic container caught his attention. Ever the man for detail, and lacking a satisfactory response to his question on plastic disposal, he undertook a reconnaissance walk around the building. The huge pit piled with plastic refuse, and cheetal deer foraging therein for food, was the depressing result of his investigations. Almost at the same time, I was undertaking a railway journey - my previous rail travel being over a decade ago. Mile after mile of plastic trash – strewn across open fields, clogging canals, polluting rail - side slums – the change (for the worse), was impossible to miss. It is estimated that globally, a million plastic bags are consumed every minute. India is a major contributor to this staggering statistic. This is a disaster already in the making. Why? Unfortunately, the list is long – but here is a flavour: • Choked Drains : Light poly-bags settle in drains. They cause backflow and water logging. Poly-bag induced water logging triggers off landslides in the mountains. • Soil Degradation : Poly-bags are non-porous and non-biodegradable. They obstruct free flow of water and air, choking the soil and suffocating plant roots. Toxic chemical additives cause soil quality degradation. • Animal Deaths : Cows eat poly-bags and die. National Geographic estimates that over 100,000 marine animal deaths per year are directly related to ingestion of plastic bags • Food Hazards : Most plastics today come from petrochemicals. Laboratory studies show that some of these chemicals are linked to cancer and kidney damage and may interfere with the reproductive system. • Mosquito Breeding : Stray poly-bags act as receptacles of water, sufficient enough for mosquito breeding. • Polluting Industry : Manufacture of poly-bags, mainly in small moulding shops, with no environmental standards involve hazardous materials and emit obnoxious gases posing serious problems for workers and the environment. • Disposal Hazards : If disposed through landfills, poly-bags continue to pollute soil for many years. If burnt they emit hazardous gases that pollute the air.