Joint efforts to beat plastic pollution need of the hour : The Tribune India

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Open House: How can the city be made free of plastic?

Joint efforts to beat plastic pollution need of the hour

The city must be made free of plastic waste by adopting different steps.

Joint efforts to beat plastic pollution need of the hour

Plastic has become a vital asset for humanity, often providing functionality that cannot be easily or economically replaced by other materials. The increased use, production and absence of remediation has amplified the environmental concern. File photo



The city must be made free of plastic waste by adopting different steps. Plastic is a threat to the life of cattle who ingest them in the search of food contents, choke the drainage system in the city, are cause of environment pollution and fly everywhere to make the premises dirty and so on. The first step needed to make the city free of plastic waste is to ban their use by all the shopkeepers who sell their goods in plastic carry-bags. This ban must also include all other sellers who keep their goods packed in small or large bags ready for selling. This ban should also be on all manufacturers who make the plastic bags and also on the shop-keepers who supply plastic bags to other shop-keepers. Those manufacturing plastic bags must be made to shift to make use of de-gradable plastic instead of non-degradable plastic. The police and staff of the Municipal Corporation must keep a strict check and any shop keeper or supplier of packed goods defying the ban must be punished repeatedly. Another step needed is to educate the general public on the demerits of plastic waste and to never accept plastic carry-bag while buying goods. 

Dr G Dev


Reduce use of plastic to minimum

Polythene bags are made up of non- biodegradable renewable resources and are incredibly harmful to the environment as they not biodegrade. Instead, they will simple break into smaller and smaller pieces over hundreds of years, inflicting huge amount of damage to the natural eco-system. The actual meaning of sustainable development is to protect the natural resources for the upcoming generations. Environmentalists, scientists and visionaries have always given way to preserve and protect environment and natural resources. Complete ban on plastics bags should be employed. Strict imposition of ban on plastic usage should be implemented and anyone holding plastic bags should be heavily penalised. In place of plastics bags compostable bags should be used as these bags are made from plant material that returns to base organic components when processed by specific composition facilities. These bags are easily accessible and are certified to be compostable. 

Jasdeep Kaur


Find substitute to plastic

Plastic as a raw material should be given up. Substitute products should be used. The shopping bags made of plastic should be replaced by jute or paper bags. People should carry their own bags when they go out for shopping. All the items made up of plastic should be replaced by some environment-friendly substitute. The plastic containers should also be replaced by containers made up of other material like glass. If the substitutes are discovered then it would benefit producer, consumer and the environment because it would not only stop the sale of items, but also improve its quality and make it environment friendly.

Ekroop Kaur


Conundrum of plastic waste disposal 

When Harappa and Mohenjodaro were excavated, we got a beautiful view of their life during the yesteryears. But I am sure if someday our present civilization is be excavated, only plastic would be found. Plastic has become a part and parcel of our lives. But it is very dangerous for us. Use of plastics in kitchen results in cancer, a study has revealed. The biggest problem of plastic is its disposal. There are some ways to reduce our plastic waste today. First is to shun plastic out of our kitchen. Not only plastic ware, but also poly bags. Whenever we go for shopping, we should have clear preference for a cloth/jute bag. Bulk shopping can be another method to reduce the use of plastic bags. Even in restaurants, also avoid having tea or coffee in plastic cups. Say a big no to plastic whenever and wherever you find it. We should also stop buying bottled water, which is a major contributor to plastic waste. Instead, we must carry refillable bottles with us. Even the plastic straws which are a single-use item should be ignored. Disposable razors can be replaced with blade razors. The diapers which we use for our babies are not only a health hazard for us, but also for our babies. So, we should switch over to cloth diapers. These few measures will help fight plastic waste.

Bir Devinder Singh Bedi


Be sensitive towards nature

We are living in a civilized society and we expect that each and everything should be in order and give us maximum benefits in different form. Each one of us wants to live in a pollution-free clean environment and wish to have clean air and green lawn and plants near our surroundings. But think for a while what are we contributing as a rational citizen for this cause. We are using plastic bags and other goods, which are manufactured by using plastic very frequently and these goods are not recycled. Burning of plastic in the open air, leads to environmental pollution due to the release of poisonous chemicals. The polluted air when inhaled by human and animals affects their health and cause respiratory problems. We may avoid using plastic bags and other goods which are made of plastic and can dream our city plastic free in the near future. If we follow some or all these suggestions then in real sense our contribution will be fruitful to this city and society as a whole. One must use reusable bags whenever he goes for shopping. One must identify products which contain plastic. One should use reusable coffee cups and avoid buying items packaged in plastic bags and should use cloth shopping bags. One should say no to water bottled and to straw. One should wear clothing made from natural material not synthetic. One must use refill stations for detergents. We must educate our children and students in schools and college not to make use of plastic and plastic bags and must tell them the bad consequences of plastic.

FARZANA KHAN


Ensure stricter laws 

Laws must be unifrom for everyone. The onus here lies both on the city authorities and the general public. The authorities must ban the use of plastic bags and other plastic items and make the residents adhere to the ban with utmost care. Harder laws must be in place to make sure a punitive action where required. The laws must be equal for everyone in the city. The people of the city can also play an important role in making the city plastic waste free. They must make sure to decrease their plastic use as much as possible and stop buying items in plastic bags. Jute bags and other options can be made available to the residents by the authorities. Residents of the city must be educated particularly the labor population about the harmful effects of plastic on the health and the environment. The general public must report any incident of defiance against the plastic ban to the authorities immediately and the later must inflict harsh punishments. General awareness, permanent ban on plastic bags and equal laws for everyone can sort out this matter and will surely make our city free of plastic waste.

Karanvir Singh


Plastic a powerful enemy

Plastic is an environmental disaster. Little do we realise that it takes ages to get dissolved and it has blocked most of our water bodies.  We have become plastic junkies. Just 40 years back, we use to take a jute bag or knitted cloth bag or cane basket to buy groceries, vegetables and other things, now we think plastic is the only option for us. Himachal has banned plastic bags and they are doing very well.  Let us do our duty towards our future generations by saying no to plastic bags

Major Gurdeep S Samra


Hold offenders accountable

The use of plastic bag is a big threat to environment as it is non biodegradable. So, it becomes imperative to adopt a plastic free living to reduce the overall impact which the plastic has on environment.  We can make our city plastic free by adopting some of the measure collectively as a good citizen. We should lend our support to each other and to the local government to make Ludhiana plastic free. Some of the important suggestions are, giving up disposable bottled water as it is the big threat to our environment. As per the market research company 'Euromonitor International' one million plastic bottles are bought every minute or about 20,000 per second around the globe. Most of these bottles are not recycled and are end up in landfill or in our oceans. If this trends remain in continues, it will pose a serious threat to climate change. We should use reusable shopping bags instead of plastic bags. We must use reusable containers to take out food or leftovers. We should use stainless steel bottles and cups for water or coffee. We should use ice cream cone instead of ice cream in container. We should go for glass bottles for beverages and refrain from using plastic bottles. We should return these disposable bottles to the shopkeeper for their recycling and should not throw these in open. We should carry a container to purchase any eatable or vegetables from the market. We should buy milk in reusable glass bottles. Government should reward to those who are not making use of plastic in their homes and in the surrounding areas. Those who will promote this campaign not to make use of plastic bags must we awarded and government should put a complete ban on the use of plastic bag. Those who will sell and use it must be punished.

Dr Mohd Saleem Farooqui


Beating plastic pollution

Plastic, which is a combination of chemicals and gases once generated cannot be decomposed earlier. It take ages for decomposition. It is harmful not only for humans but also for birds and animals, especially the ones in sea. The reason behind this is improper waste management system. If waste management system and recycling of plastic is done effectively, this problem can be solved. But this solution is curable in nature not preventive. Preventive solution is to stop the production of plastic. Production can only be stopped if usage of plastic is to be minimised and it can only be possible by our joint efforts. We should not purchase things made of plastic if suitable alternative is available like while shopping, we must carry our own bag made of cloth and which can be used again and again. We should avoid plastic bottles, straws, disposable crockery made of plastic, containers because these things consist harmful substances which are not good for health and it leads to wastage also because of its short life.

Ritu Priya


OPEN HOUSE COMMENT

Time to address pollution woes by taking punitive action  against offenders

Minna Zutshi

Piles of plastic waste lying on city roadsides and near the garbage dumps are a common sight in the city. Stray animals eating polythene bags is again all-too-common. Worse still, setting fire to garbage piles is yet another common practice, and the garbage includes plastic waste. The havoc this practice plays with the health of the residents needs no elaboration. Medical experts have been warning the public against the dangerous effect of burning plastic. 

In such a scenario, action is required at the level of the authorities as well as the individuals. The authorities need to implement the rules and keep the plastic waste off the roadsides.  They need to take a punitive action against those burning garbage in the open. At individual level, a conscious public can greatly help in combating the problem of plastic.

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