IT’S NOT PLASTIC, IT’S US

It’s simple. We use the planet’s resources and blame others for its deterioration.  Mankind has always led a very self-centered life and look where we are today due to it. The source of our life i.e. water is depleting at an alarming rate, soil is turning into sand and lush green forests are becoming stringent deserts. The negligence of human mind has very much contributed to the world’s environmental decay.For all these variations, we play the blame game.

Today there has been a new trend to decry plastic. According to a study only 9% of the plastic manufactured is recycled. That is why I say that it’s not plastic that is acting as a major factor to deplete earth’s value, it’s us, humans. Plastic is not an issue; but the way we utilize it and dispose it is the only thing that matters. Plastic has been an adept making of the human mind but we perceive it as a hazardous element, because we fail to observe the merits of it. The production of plastic is quite affordable along with its selling cost which makes it the ideal choice of the marketers. We don’t need to emphasize more on its existence. What we have to do is to make sure that all the plastic that is manufactured is disposed absolutely and properly. It is being predicted that by the year 2050, our oceans will have more plastic than fish. To believe that we can’t face this upcoming disaster is not a utopia; it can be very much achievable if we bring in mass awareness and take sensible action. This time we need to override individualism with unification.

The good news is that the plastic recycling market is gaining speed. The market size of the recycling industry in 2018 is said to be of $37.6 billion, 7.1% growth since 2017. Asia’s largest slum, Dharavi’s annual turnover is about 665 million rupees just by recycling.  The recycling industries are less in number; hence there are more opportunities in this field.  People just need to understand the worth of the waste.

To understand it more clearly we can take an example of Kamikatsu, a village of Japan who has mastered the art of ‘zero waste’ can definitely teach us some productive methods to overcome plastic salvaging process.  80% of the plastic waste is being recycled in kamikatsu, whereas only 20% is disposed to landfill. The villagers categorize plastic into 32 categories to simplify the process of recycling. The good thing about them is that instead of consuming their time on pointing a finger on plastic, they are utilizing it to find an economic and ecologic solution bringing it benefit for all involved.