Contest :Global Ban on Single-Use Plastics: A Necessity or a Risk?

Greetings my dear friends of Steemit and Hindwhale Community

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Should single-use plastics be banned worldwide?

What is single use plastic as the name suggests single-use Plastic Products or SUS are made out of plastic and can be used only once. For instance plastic straws with juice or lusy packs are discarded after consuming the product,q several other products such as sachets wrappers are classified as single-use plastic but are yet to be banned. The government has banned these products as they have low utility, high littering potential. The cost of recycling these products are also High and the end product that we get after processing is cheaper and hence it does not make business sense to recycle them.

The real problem lies with the excessive use of the single use plastic a lot of our daily use products such as plastic straws plastic carry bags wrapping or packing films even earbuds and candy sticks are made up of that signal use plastic and hence have been banned recently by the government.

Can a global ban on plastics harm the economy?

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40% OF PLASTIC Produced IS USED IN PACKAGING

52 MN tonnes OTHERS

46 MN tonnes CONSUMER PRODUCTS

65 MN tonnes TEXTILES

72 MN tonnes BUILDING & CONSTRUCTION

161 MN tonnes PACKAGING

30 MN tonnes Transportation

19 MN tonnes ELECTRICAL

Global Plastic Action Partnership (GPAP)

Launched by World Economic Forum

Include 25 countries

Aims:

To foster sustainable solutions

Sustainable waste management and circular economy models

To combat the 6 million tonnes of plastic waste entering oceans annually

Collaboration- Encourages partnership among sectors

Network Expansion- Reached 1.5 billion people globally

National Action Roadmaps- Country-specific plans to tackle plastic waste

Investments- Mobilized $3.1 billion for plastic initiatives

Job Creation- Created safer jobs for informal waste workers

Future Goals

Global Collaboration

GPAP aims to foster sustainability through collective action across nations.

Circular Economy

Focuses on tackling plastic pollution and promoting equitable economic growth and environmental resilience.

Expansion

Operating in 25 countries, GPAP strengthens efforts toward sustainability, climate resilience, and green economic growth.

Will banning single-use plastics improve environmental health?

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India produced over 35 lakh tons of plastic waste in the year 2019-2020 that's 50% more than what it had generated 2 years back. what's worrying is that 40% of this either ends up in landfills or littered on the streets or water bodies it is shocking that per capita plastic waste generation has almost doubled over the last 5 Years making India the fifth largest plastic waste generator so even as the government has put a ban on various single-use plastic items from July 1st 2022.

It is our responsibility to use plastic cautiously for a Greener and better future of the upcoming Generations.

Are there better alternatives to banning single-use plastics?

So what are some alternatives to the ban Plastic Products take cling films for example use the product often to wrap food. The alternative for this product is either biodegradable cling wraps or wraps made out of honeycomb or aluminum foils, beeswax can also be used as an alternative as they are recyclable. These will cost you 20-40% higher than the cost of a cling film as replacements for plastic straws and plastic stirrers. We can use these products made up of Steel and bamboo a set of four stainless steel straws on e-commerce Market place is available for rupees 80 while bamboo straws are priced between rupees 100 to 500 which is 100% higher than plastic straws plastic.

Cutlery spoon forks can be replaced by biodegradable Cutlery such as those made out of wheat grain harvest waste or sugar cane waste, compostable plates cups and bowls made out of bamboo fiber rice kusk are also available about

Earbuds which use plastic sticks are banned under the new Norms. The alternative for us is to switch to earbuds using bamboo or maybe those made with wooden sticks. One can totally replace earbuds with eardrops as well as a pack of bamboo earbuds.

The recent announcement also prohibits plastic carry bags having thickness less than 75 microns with effect from 30th September 2021 and having thickness less than 120 microns with effect from 31st December 2022. We can certainly use bags made up of Jute cotton or even paper bags however a lesser known substitute for the plastic bags are compostable bags. Compostable bags are made of natural plant starch and can break down to form compost without producing any toxic material. So from now on say no to single-use Plastics and say yes to Greener Alternative.