In fact, global plastic waste crisis is one of the most crucial environmental challenges that our planet is facing today! From rivers, seas and oceans getting clogged with random dumping of debris to the unseen effects of microplastics infiltrating our ecosystems, this plastic menace has grown enormously creating far-reaching adverse effects on our planet and its people. It’s also quite surprising that despite several awareness campaigns across the globe, the production of single-use plastics continues to rise, and with it, the detrimental impact on the environment. Hence, in this article, we shall explore the salient ways in which the usage of disposable plastics can be drastically reduced to minimize plastic waste that is resulting in such a huge crisis, affecting our planet in such a vicious manner!

The Magnitude of the Plastic Menace on Earth

Disposable Plastics, which were once regarded as a “magical material”, particularly in the packaging industry for their tenacity and convenience, are now regarded as one of the greatest environmental threats! Statistics reveal that over 400 million tonnes of plastics are produced evert year, globally, out of which around 8 million tonnes of plastic waste enter the oceans! Environmentalists have concluded that this huge quantity is equal to a truckload of plastics being dumped into the oceans, every minute. Therefore, it’s high time, we switched to sustainable products and solutions like reusable glass water bottles or steel and metallic products, instead of plastic water bottles, jars, cans, etc. that are causing such huge litter on land as landfill and polluting the oceans and seas as marine plastic pollution.

The Incredible Damage caused to the Environment

The impact of plastic waste on plants, wildlife and the surrounding environment is really shocking! Aquatic plants and animals like fish, sea turtles, seabirds, etc., often mistake plastics as their food, ingesting them which can result in blocking of their digestive and respiratory systems, leading to starvation, poisoning from toxins, etc. Plastic pollution also damages the coral reefs, which are some of the crucial habitats for marine life. Well, this is not just the case of seas and oceans, but even our freshwater resources like rivers, lakes, reservoirs, tanks, etc. are also getting heavily polluted, and these vital water resources also need to be purified through various technological innovations to make it suitable of drinking, cooking and other potable purposes.

Land and Air Pollution: Well, the menace caused by this huge plastic debris randomly thrown here and there is not just confined to the water bodies, but have engulfed our land and air too! Disposable plastic containers thrown after use form heaps of plastic waste on land, dumped as “landfills” that leach poisonous chemicals into the soil, affecting the crops as well as the groundwater quality. Moreover, the practice of burning plastic waste, in some parts of the world, results in toxic fumes, which certainly contribute to the massive air pollution, deteriorating the air quality leading to severe respiratory diseases like asthma, pneumonia, lung cancer, etc. Therefore, implementing proper and efficient waste management techniques, along with water and waste retrofit solutions is need of the hour to save all living organisms, including the plants inhabiting the Earth!

Disastrous Effects on Human Health

As a matter of fact, this plastic crisis is not just an environmental issue, it has disastrous consequences on human health because plastics take hundreds of years to degrade, releasing harmful chemicals like Bisphenol A (BPA) and phthalates, which are linked to various health problems, including hormonal disruptions, reproductive problems and even fatal diseases like cancer! Moreover, microplastics, the tiny plastic particles that float in the waterbodies as well as everywhere in the atmosphere, enter our food chain into our food and drinking water, poisoning the human blood as well as damaging our heart and the circulatory system! Thus, sustainable or green manufacturing companies like WAE (an expert in providing sustainable drinking water solutions and products) have developed various hi-tech water purifiers, RO plants, etc., all built of high-quality steel ensuring durability and sustainability, and in turn help in reducing the carbon footprint of the environment.

What should be the Call to Action and the Future Ahead?

The crisis that our planet is facing today due to the huge accumulation of plastic waste is indeed a complicated issue that requires urgent action from all the sectors of the society as well as strict Government plans and policies that need to be honestly adhered to by all of us. The reason being the long-term environmental impact of this increasing plastic waste menace, both on land and water is severe! Also, proper water purification systems should be used to treat and purify the water for drinking, cooking and other potable purposes.

Therefore, by sincerely following the above-mentioned principles, followed by Government interventions in strictly prohibiting the use of disposable plastics can definitely make a meaningful difference in reducing the burden of plastic waste on our planet. Nonetheless, these efforts should be collective, concerted and far-reaching. According to environmentalists and scientists worldwide, it’s high time we took a strong and collective action with concrete steps to combat this ever-rising plastic pollution invading our land, air and water bodies on Earth, as the choices we make today will actually define our future, as well as the health of our environment and our future generations.