Today is World Environment Day 2020 and the theme for this year is biodiversity. Also, I would like to begin by sharing an incident that I am ashamed of as a human. A few days ago, a pregnant elephant in Kerala was fed a pineapple filled with crackers and the elephant died as a consequence.
One person has been arrested in this regard which happened in the state of Kerala, India. Kerala has one of the highest literacy rates in the country but this callous attitude and the criminal act that followed deserves the strictest condemnation.
What has this world come to? I shudder to think. There are several factors at play that makes it all the more important to take steps to protect the environment and learn to live in harmony.
Plastic consumption has risen exponentially over the last three decades in India. In 1996, the consumption was 61,000 tonnes per year which rose to 300,000 tonnes per year in 2004 and stood at a staggering 17,800,000 tonnes per year in 2017.
India is one of the biggest consumers of disposable plastic meant for eatables or food items meant for delivery and only 60% of the total plastic waste generated at 5.6 million tonnes per year is recycled while 3.8 million is left uncollected compared to Japan which recycles 80% of its plastic waste.
If you’re looking for inspiration then the next couple of examples might help. One of the pioneers of India and the second most influential person of our times according to Time magazine, Gandhi was vocal about water harvesting and over-reliance on machines during the early 1940s. Circa present day and you have Greta Thunberg who refuses to take a flight to avoid leaving a substantial carbon footprint.
Recently, I was a part of World Earth Day celebrations in April and ever since I have been contributing in my small way to not rely on plastic by limiting its use by using reusable bags to take for shopping, preferably cloth bags that can be washed and sanitised. As responsible citizens, I urge you to contribute towards the environment as you deem fit for the greater good.
Request you to contribute as feedback or comments on how we can lessen our dependence on generating non-biodegradable waste in order to build a sustainable future.
That is awful. I truly care more for animals at times than my fellow humans. I will say, because of that, my plastic consumption is way down from what it was in my 30’s and 40’s.
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