Does the amount of plastic bothers you?

mridula

When I visit places and particularly the mountains, be it Himanchal Pradesh or Uttaranchal, the amount of plastic I see thrown around in the beautiful surroundings drives me nuts. What should be done?

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Mridula

Travel Tales from India

rangss

Wait until some half-wit realises that plastic is harmful and makes a half hearted attempt to ban it all over Uttaranchal....it is partially working in Kodaikanal and Ooty...but plastic still thrives...

...they banned the usage of plastic shopping bags in these places as if they ar ethe ONLY plastic on earth while Coke, Pepsi, Aashirwaad Atta, Dabur Chyawanaprash etc still sell in plastic containers that will obviously end up in garbage...

There is enough awareness....but no civic movement...ultimately we will all realise it too late....

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...and I took the road less travelled.

lotus blossom

maybe the question is what *could* be done? Awareness of the problem and doing your part seems the best place to begin. maybe a bottle return refund of a rupee would help the situation? generally in life, there has to be some sort of incentive, or punishment to get things done. here in the states getting caught littering carries a hefty penalty but that only happens if one gets caught. they could also employ people to pick it up, and dispose of it properly. but with such poor sanitation in india, where would that be?

plastic is one of those *wonderful* inventions that has become a nightmare. it has far reaching deletrious ramifications, for the health of the planet and all of her inhabitants.

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Not all who wander are lost

john.sw

The ban on plastic in Ooty, "The Plastic-Free Nilgiris" is working very well.

It isn't the plastic in the garbage that is the major problem - it is plastic bags that are discarded. They never rot and are a constant and growing eyesore in the streets and in the countryside.

Fortunately, in Ooty, we no longer have this problem.

However, some traders still offer you a plastic bag - I always refuse one, despite the fact that I would never discard anything in the streets!

I also amaze people by refusing to throw my bio-degradable cigarette ends into the street. I insist on taking them home or using a litter bin. So many Indians say "throw it in the street" and I tell them that Ooty is so clean now that I will not do anything to make it dirty again.

It is a matter of education and attitude, and I am sure that people are learning to appreciate a clean environment and that children will be brought up not to litter the streets.

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www.nilgiris.asia your guide to the Nilgiris, Ooty, Coonoor, Kotagiri and Gudalur

shere

This is a problem all over. I remember going to Pinjore Gardens and seeing rubbish strewn across the grass areas.

Maybe at the hill stations the monkeys could be trained to attack people who drop litter. After a few attacks people would get the idea that it is wrong to throw litter.

Sama

yes, it bothered me to see people throw stuff in the street anywhere I went. I thought, doesn't anybody have a clue?

Ironically, this morning I was in the local health food/natural stuff store, and after I checked out the clerk wanted to put my stuff in a plastic bag. AHEM....as I stood next to the magazine rack that had all the eco, environmental, conservation, etc. mags, I said, don't need a bag but....but shouldn't y'all be using paper bags instead....?

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MY INDIA, 2005-2008
"Once you have felt the Indian dust, you will never be free of it." (Rumer Godden, 1975)

mridula

I agree with you so much. I remember crossing the Rohtang pass and out of one of those swank car windows flying out would be an empty wrapper of chips or chocolates.

Any ideas how to contribute at an individual level?

lotus blossom

i overheard a customer explaining that she preferred to use plastic versus paper bags when asked at the store because paper was extinguishing the trees. a canvas or string bag (which easily stuffs into a pocket or purse) is the best method.

mridula

Apart from refusing to use plastic, can we in any way help in removing it at the individual level?

HowieUK

Thermoplastic that most everyday plastics are made of are totally recyclable!

They can be re-melted and re-formed over and over again without losing hardly any of their properties!

It's only Thermosetting plastics that cannot (not without massive investment!) be re-cycled!!!

Howie

Sama

so does she not use any paper products whatsoever in her life? such as buying newspapers, magazines, books, writing paper, computer paper, checks, gift boxes, storage boxes, CDs because of the paper inserts, etc etc etc....

at least you can use paper grocery bags to put the newspapers in your recycling bin

people used to say that with the advent of using the computer and the internet for everything, that would reduce the paper mountain, but somehow I don't think that has happened

HowieUK

Some type of plastic collection (with payment for of course!), sorting out of the different grades and a recycling plant needs to be set up!

lotus blossom

well, i certainly cannot speak for a stranger in a store, but personally speaking, i try and use the least amount of paper possible. i buy only recycled writing paper, tiolet paper and rarely buy books or the like anymore. there are some magazines that are also using recycled or tree-free paper. obviously, reduction and recycling is the biggest key. i get a mountain of unsolicited paper stuff in the mail that fills up my under the desk recycling bin every week. so, no, i do not think that the advent of computers has necessarily reduced our use of paper.

HowieUK

I thought this post was about plastic?

Or, is it evolving into a general discussion on any re-cyclable material and wasteage thereof?

Howie

Sama

for me, the bottom line is that it all begins with YOU (and me and him and her, etc....) I'm an old hippie who still believes that if you are not part of the solution, you're part of the problem. I'm a relic from the first Earth Day in the US, an old rabble rouser and organizer.

Knowledge is power, so anything that can be done to educate people and to give people choices is a start. I know there are global eco organizations, maybe get some literature, hand it out, make people aware. Start your own local organization, who knows? It all starts at the grass roots level.

as they say, the journey of a 1000 miles begins with the first step....