case study discussion(week 3)

Plastic is back on the agenda, with the 2018 World Environment Day on June 5. And, I am not talking about garbage problems of countries like India. For us, plastic has never left the agenda—it is in our face literally. Our governments lack the money or the personnel to take back the increasing amount of waste we generate and to get rid of it. Growing mountains of non-biodegradable garbage—mainly plastic—is our nightmare. It is choking our drains, our rivers and our streets.

No, this time plastic is back on the global agenda—perhaps after some 30 years or so. It was in the 1970s that the now developed world struggled with its massive waste problem. But then cities cleaned up litter. There is no plastic waste on the streets or in the rivers. The problem of garbage has been managed.

This is not to say that plastic has gone away. In fact, plastic has remained. Its use has increased. It is today perhaps the most ubiquitous and necessary material that “humankind” has created. The biggest increase in the use of plastic has come in the packaging industry—from water bottles to plastic layers in tea bags to plastic straws, glasses, plates and just about all that we package for our consumption. But we also wear it; we sleep on it; we build our homes with it and we pipe our water and oil in it.

Plastic use was not an issue, because waste was a problem that had been handled. As long as people did not use carry-bags to do shopping; and as long as they segregated waste, it was ok. We could use and somebody would recycle. Or it would be taken to an incinerator and burnt. Or taken away to be put in a landfill. All in all, it was handled.