Plastic is almost used by everyone in the Planet.
Slowly it is showing its effect on environment.
We are at a stage to find immediate effective solution for this problem as soon as possible. Most of the plastics used as of now are stable in the environment and not degrading easily. I have witnessed plastic bags strewn all over the places in land environment. This will cause effects on hydrological cycle and environment. They are polluting both land and water. When they are broken down after very long time, they become more dangerous by converting into micro plastics. These micro plastics can even travel between cells. They enter the food chain. More studies are needed to find the toxicity of these plastic substances. Plastic solids are eaten by birds and has caused mortality in little ones. Their stomach has shown to contain the bottle caps that could not be degraded even after they are dead. I have read about plastic islands formed in oceans because of plastic debris.
Recent story in CNN shows this effect in an alarming way -
Plastic Island Video
EPA Picture showing plastics in a turtle's stomach::
Day by day we are drinking polluted water, breathing polluted air, eating contaminated food, spending less and less time outdoors and not sleeping properly because of the electronic devices we use. All the five important necessities for sustaining healthy life is being threatened. Along with these, plastics also enter into bio-accumulation process through the food chain and start to affect - it is not good. We need to invest soon in bio-plastics that will degrade faster in the environment than these stubborn plastics. There are researches that add sugar to plastics that will be eaten by bacteria and degrade soon. Further biological material such as plant fibers must be added to make plastic more bio-degradable.
In 1990s we trained women fiber knitting (free training workshops) to create eco-bags, an alternative to plastic bags. This also in turn recover women from poverty - a method to eradicate poverty and that eradicates hunger - which is our objective.
FIBER KNITTING TRAINING
NATURAL DYE PREPARATION
FINISHED PRODUCTS - ECOBAGS - ALTERNATIVE FOR PLASTIC BAGS
These eco-bags should be encouraged to at least reduce plastics and give the opportunity to the under privileged women to come out of poverty.
More research should be done by plastic industries, scientific communities on biodegradable plastics and curb the effects of plastics to the environment and human health.
