Plastic bottles threaten our existence and threat is real.
When do you last remember not to have discarded a plastic packaged water bottle on road, a park or just on beach? Do you realize how bad for the environment could the bottle discarded by you be? Plastic bottles discarded by people actually threaten the existence humans and other species and threat is real.
Take a look at the statistics. They are alarming.
Americans – the largest users of plastic on the planet – consume 29 billion water bottles each year. Only one bottle for every six bottles they buy is recycled. Each plastic bottle takes 1000 years to decompose while continuously seeping pollutants into soil and water during the process.
If this does not frighten you, look at the following statistics.
A bottle takes thrice the volume of water to manufacture than that it takes to fill it. A huge quantity of fossil fuel goes into producing and transporting petroleum product called polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and the production of bottled water uses 17 million barrels of fuel every year in the USA alone. The fuel would ordinarily fill slightly over one million cars a year.
Ironically, the people of the USA comprise less than five percent of the global population, however, they consume more than 25 percent of natural resources and are responsible for producing 30 percent pollutants.
Data reveals that India generates more than 25000 tonne plastic waste every day and at least 40% waste goes uncollected. The worst part of plastic generation is that its 80% is discarded as waste.
Convenient packaging (rigid and flexible) in plastic is considered as the biggest threat in India because discarded waste is ending up in landfills and drains and pollutants are reaching the sea or groundwater at last.
Going by estimates, the oceans will have one tonne of plastic for every 3 tons of fish in next five years. Plastic pollutants affects marine life and has induced toxins into food chain.
What can we do?
While the Governments and international groups including the NGOs have been looking for ways to tackle the problem, we, as individual, can at least contribute our bit.
Let us:
- Toss packaged water bottle.
- Shift to using traditional earthen utensils.
- Shift to using stainless steel water bottles.
- Make it a habit to carry filtered water in reusable stainless steel bottles.
- Caution people and make them aware of the adverse effect of bottled water on our environment.
- Motivate people at workplace to ban plastic water bottles.
- Educate children about the positive impact of using reusable stainless steel bottles.
- Pick up and recycle an empty, used water bottle lying on the street or in a park.