What’s sterile, strong, and everywhere around us? Plastic.
Our day starts with brushing our teeth using a plastic brush, we store our food in it, drink water from it. It’s cheap, convenient, and versatile. Usage of plastic has never been an issue, it is very easy to make, shape, pack. It is light, strong, and inexpensive. Its ability to guard against contamination makes it useful in sterile medical environments such as hospitals. It is the misuse that is causing all the pain and suffering.
A study, presented in a report by the World Economic Forum (WEF) and the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, observed that there could be “more plastics than fish (by weight) in the ocean by 2050 if no action is taken immediately”.
The report said that 20% of plastic packaging could be profitably reused, for example by replacing single-use plastic bags with reusable alternatives or designing innovative packaging models based on product refill.
A further 50% of plastic packaging could be profitably recycled if improvements are made to packaging design and after-use management systems. This could bring in an additional $90 to $140 per tonne of mixed plastics.
We Dare Global Association has hence started with a campaign to make people stop using the plastic bags, popularly referred to as Polythene Bags or Panni in India. They have come up with a Swachh Hind Sena concept, which would target people to stop accepting plastic bags from shopkeepers. Another team has been assigned to make sure that the hawkers and shopkeepers have an alternative to such plastic bags. They are being offered reusable potlis by this NGO. The plan is to cover one small influential area in a city and make it plastic free. It would then be scaled up to city level by making about 100 spots in the city Plastic Free Zones.
This is being done with the help of local authority and the people residing in the area. These people would be knighted as Soldiers of Clean City.
Immense support is being drawn from the crowd. People registering for the event need to simply take a pledge that they would not only minimise the use of plastic bags, but also encourage others to do the same.
To Pledge visit: https://goo.gl/Q6SFUh