Neeraj Kumar Pande
The environmental discourse of the 21st century is characterised by two fortuitous yet explicit ironies. One being the overarching need for avoiding plastic in contemporary environmental crusade and the other being the vicious nature of plastic as a substance itself, which once produced, is resilient to any attempt to obliterate it from the ecosystem. Back when the plastic industry started thriving in India during the late 20th century, no one could have imagined that a substance which feeds into almost all modern appliances and consumer utilities of routine use would pose the most draconian threat to global environment in multifaceted ways, in just a couple of decades to come. Reeling under the onslaughts of rapid industrialisation and subsequent urbanisation, most newly industrialised nations (NIDs), were grappling with conventional ecological challenges such as rising greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuels, deforestation, and industrial activities, until almost the 90’s. A major milestone in the global environmental discourse was the 1992 Earth Summit in Brazil, which led to the creation of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Until the 1970’s baring few scientists and researchers, public concern about plastic, and polythene pollution or its adverse impact on human and ecological health alike, was minimal. It was only at the beginning of 1990’s decade that ecologists began the discourse on linking plastic waste with wider issues like overconsumption, marine and air pollution.
Governments, NGO’s and local communities across many developing countries, where waste disposal protocols are feebly implemented, began their roar towards banning single use plastics, including bags, straws, containers and microbeads. Eventually the term “microplastics” became prominent as plastic traces began being found in ground water, soil, agriculture produce and most shockingly even human blood samples. By 2022 there were ample evidences to prove the all pervasiveness of micro plastics. By 2010 most cities and countries had initiated legislation against single-use plastics.Fast forward to 2025 and it is public parlance that plastic use, poor recycling or disposal mechanisms and seepage of micro plastic particles in food chain, are the most perilous dangerous looming over the planet. As we gear up for World Environment Day 2025, once again the menace of plastic pollution has been brought to limelight, just as it had been in 2023. And rightly so.
Today microplastic shreds, which are plastic particles less than 5 millimeters in size, are found in almost all organs of the human body, including the brain, liver, and kidneys, causing critical non communicable diseases. Myriad health disorders such as cognitive decline, hormonal disruptions, memory loss, and neuroinflammation, are becoming common among younger population. Bisphenol A (BPA) and phthalates, chemicals integral to plastics, are known endocrine disruptors, triggering not only cardiovascular diseases but also higher mortality in those with chronic co morbidities. Studies have also been pointing out to the unregulated toxins present in black plastics which have gained popularity in recent times. The impending economic burden on health systems in developing counties is already an explosive crisis. Microplastics are being found in atmospheric dust in remote regions like the Arctic coasts and Himalayas. When deposited in the soil, snow and ground water in mountainous regions, nano plastic fibres completely disrupt native flora and fauna. According to the Zero Waste Himalaya Alliance, about 70% of the plastics collected from across the Himalayan belt from Ladakh to Arunachal Pradesh are non-recyclable and have no market value. Rivers and lakes become pathways for microplastics to glide from land to sea. No wonder then that more than 80% of marine litter is composed of plastics. According to UNESCO Ocean Literacy Portal research by 2050, “plastic will likely outweigh all fish in the sea. In the last ten years, we have produced more plastic products than in the previous century”. The economic burden is yet another facet. The annual costs of plastic in the ocean is estimated to be between around $6-19bn USD (UN estimates). This is owing to the disruption of tourism, fisheries, and cleaning efforts undertaken to dislodge heavy plastic deposits from the sea. As heaps of discarded plastic waste keep rotting across hills, rivers and seas, protocols like Plastic Waste Management Rules, 2016 (amendments 2021 & 2022), have been implemented half heartedly. These regulations had aimed to reduce plastic pollution, promote recycling, and encourage the use of sustainable alternatives. However open dumping and burning of polythene as well as plastic waste continues, either in disposal sites or residential areas. If human civilisation wants to dawn to a safer, healthier and sustainable tomorrow, then there is barely a little time to take constructive action but definitely no time anymore to waste, when it comes to making clean or green environmental choices. Not only do the existing climate mitigation protocols at the national and global level need urgent implementation, communities need to be sensitised about adopting safer alternatives to plastics such as bamboo, beeswax coating, ceramics, and biodegradable plastics. The Himalayan state of Uttarakhand, once steeped in pristine natural beauty, has been jostling with massive and unsystematic waste generation since over a decade now. Even remote Himalayan regions are dotted with plastic waste owing to high eco tourism and commercialisation. Although the state Government has adopted several initiatives towards mitigating this challenge, like Polythene Waste Banks, Plastic-Free Villages Initiative, incorporating Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) as a component of Solid Waste Management Rules, mandatory recycling and collection, there is a long road ahead. There are multiple bottlenecks due to lack of active community participation in environment protection programme. Only when people become proactive in waste reduction, source segregation, voluntary recycling, and willingly adopt green alternatives to plastic for routine necessities, can the world aspire to become free from the manacles of plastics.
(The author is a retired civil servant;views are personal)
