27 Dec 2021 Single use Plastic
Plastic- Today Current Affairs
- About 115 years ago today, when Leo H. Beckland discovered plastic in 1907, no one had even guessed that the plastic which is being presented as a boon to human society, Sometimes it will become a curse.
- This plastic has now become so dangerous that in the year 2019, the Prime Minister had to appeal from the Red Fort that the use of ‘single use plastic’ should be ended now.
- Many unsaturated hydrocarbons such as ethylene, high polymers of propylene are called plastics. Being soft, it can be easily molded into any shape.
- On the basis of construction there are two types of plastics – first natural plastic and second artificial plastic.
- Natural plastic is a plastic that becomes soft on heating and hard on cooling. Lac is a good example of this.
- Whereas the plastic prepared by chemical method is called artificial plastic. It is of two types – first thermoplastic second thermosetting plastic.
- On heating thermoplastic, it changes into many forms. Plastics like polyethylene, poly propylene, poly vinyl chloride fall under the category of thermoplastics.
- While a thermosetting plastic is a plastic that hardens when heated, it cannot be softened by reheating.
- Plastics like urea, formaldehyde, polyurethane come under the category of thermosetting plastics.
Single use Plastic: The Hindu Analysis
- As its name suggests, once used it is thrown away. As a result of this, you can get to see piles of plastic waste everywhere.
- According to one figure, about 300 million tons of plastic are produced in the world every year. India ranks fifth in the world in the production of plastic waste.
- These plastics remain in the environment for thousands of years, that is, they are not destroyed. Also, only 10-13% of the total plastic produced is recycled and even in that, petroleum based plastics are extremely difficult to recycle. The Hindu Analysis.
- Discarded plastics end up under land or through rivers into the ocean where they break down into tiny particles and turn into dangerous chemicals.
- These hazardous chemicals destroy marine biodiversity as well as severely affect the reproductive capacity of marine organisms. Plastics contain organic organic esters of a volatile nature, due to which there are possibilities of causing cancer.
- The Plastic Waste Management Rules, 2016 brought by the government to tackle the problem of plastic waste.
- Under this rule, such companies which use plastic in their packaging will also have to take responsibility for destroying it.
- Recently the Tamil Nadu government has started a campaign called ‘Meendum Manjappai’ to promote the use of cloth bags instead of plastic bags.
- It is worth noting that on August 12, 2021, issuing a notification to the Government of India, it has been decided to ban single-use plastic from July 1, 2022.
- Now the Bihar government has also banned the use of single-use plastic in the state from July 1, 2022.
- In view of this problem, many steps are being taken at the international level as well. For example, an international agreement on waste disposal named ‘Basel Convention’ has been implemented.
- In fact, at present there is no agency for certification of companies producing plastics in the country. In such a situation, these companies produce plastic arbitrarily according to their convenience.
- Experts say that if ‘single use plastic’ is to be completely banned, then proper monitoring and certification of the products of these companies will have to be done.
- India’s biggest problem with waste management is grading, which makes it difficult to estimate the actual plastic in the garbage. The Hindu Analysis.
- Due to lack of proper estimation of plastic waste, the process of its disposal gets affected. At the same time, we also have to look for some eco-friendly and economical alternatives to plastic, because people will use it under compulsion if there is no economical option.
- However, the success of any law or campaign depends on the participation of the general public. This means that it is up to us and you, how beautiful and how safe we want to make our earth.
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yojna ias daily current affairs 27 December 2021
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