Think about the last time you went to a restaurant—met friends, clicked Instagram-worthy pictures, had a hearty meal—had a good time overall. Now, pause for a second and think about the drink that you had. A drink which most probably came with a plastic straw in it. That straw, which you used just once, made its way into our oceans, where it choked a fish or a turtle to death. Scary, isn’t it?
Single-use plastics have become severely ingrained into our lives, so much so that they are taking a heavy toll on Earth. Recently, a picture doing the rounds was of a plastic bag being found at the Mariana trench: the deepest point on Earth. This is just one example of our obsession with plastics, but a hard-hitting one. During our short time on this planet, we have managed to pollute the most unreachable place on Earth.
So, how exactly did we become this obsessed with an artificially derived substance? To the point that we have managed to use 8.3 billion tonnes of plastic, 60% of which is still not recycled?
Have you heard of Alexander Parkes? He invented man-made plastic. Since its inception, plastic has been used as a building block for the human civilization, proving durable and useful for a variety of purposes. However, plastic does not naturally degrade, so that one water bottle that your great-grandfather may have used is still present on Earth, either deep in the ocean or buried in a landfill. It just breaks down into smaller and smaller pieces called microplastics. Several beauty products also use microplastics as exfoliants, which pass through water filtration systems, end up in our water bodies and remain there for hundreds of years to come.
By now you must have an idea about the severity of the situation. If not, here’s a picture of a sea turtle being operated on, to remove a straw from its nose
If that was still not enough, please look at this picture of a whale killed due to ingestion of 80 plastic bags.
Do we ever, even for a moment, pause and think about these animals when we use straws, polybags, water bottles and even cosmetics? Not. even. once. Some of you may, for those of you who don’t, it’s high time to start doing it, right from this moment.
Now that it has been established that plastics are wreaking havoc on Earth, it’s high time we devise a solution. We need to address and solve this problem before the oceans are filled with more plastic than fish. I don’t think anyone would like ‘Plastic and chips’ or ‘Salmon infused with plastic’ for their meals. We need to take action and take it NOW.
Giving up plastic may sound difficult at first, but once you take the initial step, the sense of responsibility and happiness that comes with it is unmatched.
So how much effort does refusing single-use plastics need?
At a restaurant? All it takes is those three golden words: ‘No straw please’
Out for grocery shopping? ‘No polyethene please’
Similarly for plastic cutlery or cups: Just because something is free or complimentary, doesn’t mean it has to be accepted. Learn to refuse.
At first, you may not like the quizzical looks that waiters or cashiers give you, but take your stance, and stick to it. I’ve been asked why I’m refusing these items and asked to “Chill” because one straw or one bag won’t make a difference. But I have also been a source of inspiration for friends and family, who are religiously ditching as much plastic as they can and motivating their friends in turn. (Y’all know who you are!)
Here are some tips for leading a plastic-free life. Start off by doing at least one of these and you will see how easy it is to switch to non-plastic alternatives:
- Stop using straws! I cannot emphasise this point enough. Probably one of the most useless inventions on Earth, I have been urging people to give up straws so much now, that people are reminded of me when they see straws. Drink directly from the glass, or if you’re concerned about spoiling your lipstick, please switch to paper/bamboo/stainless steel straws. They are easily available online.
- Carry your own bottles/cutlery and bags when you go out. Also, keep jute or cloth bags in your car for any unplanned shopping that you might have to do. Helps to be prepared for plastic-free (read guilt-free) shopping!
- Use your own mugs at workplaces, instead of disposable paper cups. A lot of us think that these cups are made entirely of paper and are okay to use. Wrong. The thin lining of plastic in them makes them just like any other plastic cup—difficult to decompose.
- Choose your beauty products smartly. Any shampoos, body washes having microplastics may seem impressive, but it does the planet no good. Rather switch to naturally packaged soaps or shampoo bars.
- Return any plastic cutlery or straw that comes along with home delivered food. Most of the home delivery apps have the option of going green, use it. Whenever possible, dine-in. It is known to reduce waste generation as compared to takeaways.
- Leave plastic packaged fruits and vegetables on the shelf. Most supermarkets cover fruits/veggies individually with plastic, adding to unnecessary waste. Mother nature has already designed a covering for most of them. Shop from local vendors instead.
- Switch to natural fibres instead of the synthetic ones, as these release microplastics into the water on each wash. This is a difficult step, considering how most clothes these days are synthetic but start with one piece of clothing at a time.
- Most importantly—Spread the word! Even if you are able to influence one person, the impact it creates will be huge. Let’s assume that you convince 10 people to give up on plastic straws. If each of these people refuses one straw a day, that stops 10*365= 3650 straws from going into our oceans or landfills. Not so small an impact now, is it?
So the next time you pick up that straw, think about that innocent turtle, think about that whale, think about the Earth.
Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s Not.
-Dr. Seuss
