Recycling of Plastics in India

-Anand Agrawal

 

Plastics are inherently unsustainable, coming as they do from non-renewable petroleum sources. From cradle to grave, plastics are implicated in a variety of problems, including environmental pollution and worker health hazards during manufacture, processing and disposal; toxic exposure to consumers during use; cattle and wildlife deaths due to ingestion of plastic.

Recycling is not always green. Most plastics can only be downcycled into lower-quality products that often have higher and more leachable levels of toxic additives. In India, migrant and unprotected workers including a large number of children operate recycling facilities. Recycling, where possible, should be done in state-of-the-art facilities with full regard given to worker and environmental safety. In our democratic country, where per capita consumption of plastics is one of the lowest in the world and very low compared to the world average. Yet the recycling component is highest.

Strolling through the average supermarket, shoppers find literally hundreds (if not thousands) of items to make their lives easier. Individually wrapped snack cakes, plastic baggies to store sandwiches for lunch/dinner, unbreakable soda bottles, and disposable razors, diapers, shampoo bottles and projection TV lenses are all made of plastic. Unless specifically requested, even the bags we use to carry home our goods are often plastic. To humans, these are items of comfort, if not necessity. But to marine animals and other animals in sacred river Ganges and other rivers it can be a floating minefield.

Plastic--whether it be for a container, a wrapper, or the product itself, has become an everyday part of our lives. This isn't necessarily a bad thing--plastic is also the material diabetics use for their disposable syringes; arthritic patients have for their replaced hips; and construction workers wear to protect their heads. But, when plastic reaches our waters, whether it is plastic bags or drifting fishnets, it poses a threat to the animals that depend on the oceans for food.

Before the days of plastic, when fishermen dumped their trash overboard or lost a net, it consisted of natural materials-- cloth or paper that would either sink to the bottom or biodegrade quickly. But plastic remains floating on the surface, the same place where many genuine food sources lie--and can remain so for 400 years. Plastic is durable.

The Indian government and the plastic industry claim that India has the highest rate of plastic recovery in the world - between 40% and 80% of all plastics produced. But be this as it may, the waste problem remains; and mainly for the simple reason that the rag pickers don't collect plastic bags, for simple reasons of economics. Although plastic fetches about 12-14 rupees per kilo in the waste world, it takes approximately 800 flimsy polythene bags to make up a kilogram. This makes them an extremely unattractive economic proposition for even the most destitute rag picker.

Despite the problems mentioned, plastic is considered to be an invaluable gift of modern science and technology to mankind. This unique wonder material has the mutually exclusive qualities of being very light, yet strong and economical. Plastics manufacturers are also investigating ways to create "degradable" plastics. Although all materials eventually break down, researchers are working with two types of degradable plastics: photodegradable and biodegradable. Photodegradable plastics are made to become weak and brittle when exposed to sunlight for prolonged periods. Biodegradable refers to materials that get consumed by bacteria and fungi. These microorganisms break the polymer chain and consume the material through several methods.

What you can do and should do to help the community in reducing the plastic waste:
1. Look for alternative materials or avoid excessive packaging when deciding on purchases. Use paper bags, milk and juice in cardboard. Insist on paper bags and glass bottles. Phase out the use of plastics from non-priority areas such as short-life packaging.
2. Revisit Recycling- Many communities currently offer pick-up recycling programs for #1 and #2 plastics. Other forms of plastic may be accepted by a local recycling business. If your community doesn't have a recycling program, contact your city or town hall to request one.
3. Educate others about the problem of marine debris, enhancing "voluntary compliance through awareness." Re-use your plastic bags, or better still avoid them by using a sturdy bag that will last for years.
4. Re-use cups with lids (like yogurt cups) for storage rather than buying new ones.

The only other way which can help in reducing the recycling problem will be, if each individual starts thinking and taking a personal interest in making sure that plastic is not littered or thrown anywhere, and saved separately to be picked up by sanitation workers pickers. Each individual can make a significant difference to the society by educating others and following some of steps discussed earlier.

Effective planning and recycling will impact the public health, worker safety and the environment. Re-use and recycling is one of the most immediate and effective ways to protect the environment. By recycling instead of producing goods from raw materials, substantial amounts of energy and raw materials can be saved in our democratic country with more than billion people.

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Note: The writer works for Corning, Inc.,USA as a Process Engineer.The article written above is his personal view and not the view of the company.