World Environment Day 2018: A step towards plastic free future

World Environment day – a special date to encourage awareness and igniting the desire to protect the environment. The 2018 edition of the World Environment day, one of the most important dates for United Nations (UN) and for the whole world perhaps, will be hosted by India.

World Environment Day 2018 Theme

Every year since its conception in 1974, World Environment Day has had a noteworthy theme to make a change to the environmental situation in our planet. The theme for 2018 is ‘Beat Plastic Pollution’.

Plastic – a multi usage material which have dwelled into the lives of the people so much, that it is hard to imagine day-to-day life without using plastic. Common man has become over reliant on plastic but most of them hardly think about the fact that one third of the plastic packaging escapes collection system, and that means it ends up jamming the drains and polluting the already endangered environment.

The plastic that ends up swimming in the oceans can swim across the whole earth four times in a single year, and can continue the run for up to 1,000 years before it fully dies out. Keeping this in mind, many NGOs and environmental bodies have come out with something new to end the threat for good.

Initiative

The Maharashtra Government has recently banned plastic products, from packaged milk to beverages. Mumbai metro has plastic crushers installed at six out of 12 stations, and the plastic bottles crushed in the machine will be dispatched to fibre manufacturing companies for recycling. The plastics will be used as raw materials for clothing, grocery bags and carpets.

The roads in Maharashtra are now being carried out at major roads in Maharashtra. After an extensive study, it was found out that plastic roads can take a load of 2,500 kilogram and put an end to the potholes issues in Indian roads. This initiative is highly expected to help the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to sort out the road damage issues due to heavy moving vehicles.

An effort in day-to-day life

Many NGOs and individuals have initiated drives for reducing or completely stop the usage of plastic bags in daily life. NGOs have started campaigns to create awareness about plastic wastes by distributing eco-friendly bags to encourage them to stop using plastic bags.

Start now

Bring your own bags to the supermarket.

Ask food suppliers to deliver food in non-plastic packages.

Carry water bottles, avoid using and buying drinking water in plastic bottles.

Refuse plastic cutlery.

If you spot any plastic on the road or beach, pick it up and put it inside a bin.