Beat Plastic Pollution ERO E Book

Plastic Ke Khilaaf
Itna Sannata Kyun
Hain Bhai?
E-Book on the Threats of Plastic Pollution &
Small Differences That We can Make.
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Is E-Book Mein Story Hain, Emotion Hain, Knowledge Hain!
Title
Page Number
Plastic Ke Khilaaf Itna Sannata Kyun Hain Bhai? 2
Kitnay Aadmi Thhay? 3
Loha Garam Hain, Maar Do Knowledge Aur Common Sense Ka 4
Hathoda
Kitnay Plastic Thhay? 5
Flashback/Yeh Greenery Mujhe De De Thakur Earth 6
So Jaa Nahi Toh Gabbar Plastic Ka Packet Bhej Dega 8
11
Ab Goli Khaa Kaalia Plastic Bottles
Basanti, Plastic Ke In Cheap Benefits Ke Saamne Mat Nachna 14
Plastic Agar Ek Problem Laayega Toh Hum Chaar Solution
17
Denge
Yeh Sirf Awareness Nahi, Plastic Pollution Ki Gale Mein Phansi 20
Ka Fanda Hain
Common Sense Aur Knowledge, Yeh Dosti Hum Nahi
21
Chhorenge
WED Kab Hain? Kab Hain WED? 23
Yaad Rakkhunga! 24
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From Editor’s Desk
Plastic Ke Khilaaf Itna Sannata Kyun Hain Bhai?
Dear Colleagues,
“In the time it takes Hardik Pandya to bowl an over in a cricket match,
four garbage trucks worth of plastic get dumped into the ocean”.
(Source: https://www.unenvironment.org )
Our oceans, lands and lives are being gradually wrecked by the poison
of Plastic. Blinded by short term convenience we are ruining our own
future by indiscriminate use of Plastic
How long before we wake up and take a call? Well, as far as Plastic
Pollution is concerned, all our efforts have to be triggered “Now”. A
moment’s delay might cost us heavily moving forward. Before we ask
ourselves whether we are doing enough to fight the menace of plastic
we need to probe if we are adequately aware of the real issues in hand.
We thought the process of generation awareness should begin at home
and this E-book designed for IOCL employees is a step in that direction.
To keep it crisp and fun, we have designed the content on the theme of
the “Sholay” – one of the greatest blockbusters of all time. Gabbar-The
Plastic is up against the Thakur-Earth and in this battle Thakur-Earth is
ably supported by two deputies; Jai-CommonSense and Veeru-
Knowledge.We hope you will like this Presentation from CC-Dept,
Eastern Region. We this book will encourage you to reduce a bit of
plastic from your life. Do share your feedback at aloke@indianoil.in.
With Regards,
Aloke Kumar Singh, DGM (CC)/ER
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“Kitnay Aadmi Thhay”
The Lead Actors in this Drama
Gabbar As
Plastic Pollution
Thakur As
The Earth
Jai As Common Sense
Veeru As Knowledge
Kaalia As
Plastic Bottle
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Chapter 1:
“Loha Garam hain,
Maar do knowledge aur common sense ka hathoda”
Thakur, after spending many sleepless nights, finally called upon the
services of Jai and Veeru.
Because he knew that the time is right. The menace of Gabbar and his
Plastic propaganda has to be dealt with firmly now or else..it would be
too late.
The silence of the night was pierced by Thakur’s steel voice; “Loha
garam hain, maar do hathoda. Get rid of Gabbar and Plastic now”.
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Chapter 2:
“Kitnaay Plastic Thhay”
Jai had a question; “Who is this Gabbar”?
Thakur-Earth’s face squirmed in agony as he mumbled “This Gabbar is
the Plastic that cannot be reused, the plastic that cannot be broken
down naturally. The accumulation of such plastic adversely affects
humans and all other life forms. Since 1950s, over 6 billion tones of
plastic have been produced of which only around 20% has been reused
or incinerated. 80% of all plastic is polluting our land, oceans and us”
sobbed Thakur-Earth, “I am gradually being slow-poisoned by Gabbar.
Because the Gabbar’s plastic is stubbornly resistant to natural
degradation”.
“Gabbar is ruthless”, lamented Thakur, his voice choked with disgust
and fear, “He chopped off my greenery and soil fertility; well…almost.
We need to stop him. NOW”.
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Chapter 3:
Flashback :
“Yeh Greenery mujhe de de Thakur”
Some alarming Statistics:
Over the last ten years we have produced more plastic than during the
whole of the last century.
50 percent of the plastic we use, we use just once and throw away.
Enough plastic is thrown away each year to circle the earth four times.
We currently recover only five percent of the plastics we produce.
Plastic accounts for around 10 percent of the total waste we generate.
The production of plastic uses around eight percent of the world's oil
production (bioplastics are not a good solution as they require food
source crops).
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Plastic in the ocean breaks down into such small segments that pieces
of plastic from a one liter bottle could end up on every mile of beach
throughout the world.
Annually approximately 500 billion plastic bags are used worldwide.
More than one million bags are used every minute.
46 percent of plastics float and it can drift for years before eventually
concentrating in the ocean gyres.
It takes 500-1,000 years for plastic to degrade.
Billions of pounds of plastic can be found in swirling convergences in
the oceans making up about 40 percent of the world's ocean surfaces.
80 percent of pollution enters the ocean from the land.
Plastic constitutes approximately 90 percent of all trash floating on the
ocean's surface, with 46,000 pieces of plastic per square mile.
One million sea birds and 100,000 marine mammals are killed annually
from plastic in our oceans.
44 percent of all seabird species, 22 percent of cetaceans, all sea turtle
species and a growing list of fish species have been documented with
plastic in or around their bodies.
Virtually every piece of plastic that was ever made still exists in some
shape or form (with the exception of the small amount that has been
incinerated).
Plastic chemicals can be absorbed by the body—93 percent of
Americans age six or older test positive for BPA (a plastic chemical). The
percentage is likely to be higher for Indians.
Some of these compounds found in plastic have been found to alter
hormones or have other potential human health effects.
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Chapter 4:
“…So jaa nahi toh
Gabbar Plastic Ka Packet bhej dega”
Meanwhile, at Gabbar’s Adda;
Gabbar talks about how he plans to unleash destruction upon Thakur”
“Yahan se pachas pachas kos door gaaon mein jab bachcha raat ko
rota hain, toh Maa kehti hain Bete so jaa, so jaa nahi toh Gabbar
Plastic Ka Packet bhej dega”
1. The plastic bags are made from non-renewable sources and on
this account, highly contribute to climate change. Most of plastic
is made of polypropylene which is a material manufactured from
petroleum and natural gas. All of the materials are non-renewable
fossil fuel-based materials and through their extraction and even
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production, greenhouse gases are created which further
contribute to global climate change.
2. Plastic bags do not degrade. In truth, petroleum based plastic
bags never degrade. Instead of the plastic degrading, it is broken
down into small tiny pieces which are swept down and end up in
the oceans which are then consumed by wildlife. Currently, there
are approximately 46,000-1,000,000 plastic fragments floating
within every square mile of the globes oceans.
3. Plastic bags are harmful to wildlife and marine life. Birds, animals
and marine life such as sea turtles and fish often mistake the
plastic bag and other plastic materials for food and consume
them. What happens once they consume these plastic materials is
that their digestive system gets congested leading to the
development of health infections and death when there is
suffocation. The animals may also become easily entangled inside
the plastic.
4. Plastic bags are harmful to human health. There are some
chemicals from the plastic bags which can disrupt the normal
functioning of hormones in the body. Most plastic fragments in
the oceans like plastic bags have some pollutants such as PCBs
(polychlorinated biphenyl) together with PAHs (Polycyclic
aromatic hydrocarbons) which are hormone disrupting. Once the
marine animals consume these chemicals, they move through
the food web then later into the humans who consume fish
together with other marine animals. The chemical materials bioaccumulates
in the sea animals and fish system as they are
exposed to them in the ocean waters. When the humans prepare
them they consume all these chemicals affecting their healths.
They could develop cancers or other serious conditions.
5. Plastic bags are expensive and hard to clean or remove from the
environment. As per US standards, the amount of plastic bag
cleanup is around 17 cents per bag thus in average the taxpayers
end up paying around $88 each year just on plastic bag waste.
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These plastic bags also cost 3-5 cents each. Thus, the plastic
considered free is not free after all. Individuals pay a lot to
purchase them and even for reusing them. For this reason,
plastics should simply be banned.
6. Plastic bags are not easy to recycle. Plastic bags are said to
present significant challenge in terms of recycling. Recycling
facilities do not have the capacity to recycle plastic bags and thus
do not accept them. Therefore, the actual recycling rate for plastic
bags is around 5%.
7. Plastic bags tend to last more; perhaps forever and we even use
so many of them. Plastic bags never degrade completely which
shows that as more of them are produced by companies, then
more are introduced into the environment. Therefore, the more
the amount of plastic bags the more there is plastic pollution and
its effects. Banning the use of plastic bags will help reduce this
great effect.
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Chapter 5:
“Ab Goli Khaa Kaalia”
Meanwhile, Gabbar had sent Kaalia, the raging king of Plastic Bottles
to take Thakur to task.
Dangerous effects of drinking water from Plastic Bottles
1. Harmful substances: Apart from harmful chemicals in plastic,
water when get stored in plastic bottles also produces harmful
substances like fluoride, arsenic and aluminium which can be
poison for human body. So, drinking water from plastic bottles
would mean drinking slow poison that will slowly and steadily
deteriorate your health.
2. Dioxin production: Plastic does melt in hot environment. And
we, often store water in plastic bottles while driving and so many
times leave it in the car where it is in the direct exposure of sun.
Such heating releases a toxin called Dioxin which when consumed
can accelerate breast cancer.
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3. BPA generation: Biphenyl A is an estrogen-mimicking chemical
which can lead to lot of health problems like diabetes, obesity,
fertility problems, behavioral problems and early puberty in girls.
It’s better not to store and drink water from a plastic bottle.
4. Liver cancer and reduced sperm count: Because of presence of
a chemical called phthalates in plastic, drinking water from plastic
bottles can also lead to liver cancer and reduction in sperm count.
5. Vitamin based bottled water: Nowadays, we get water mostly
in plastic bottles and to increase its health content, manufacturers
make it vitamin-enriched to attract buyers. But this is even more
harmful as it carries health-harming additives like food dyes and
high fructose corn syrup.
6. Impact on immune system: Our immune system is immensely
affected when we drink water in plastic bottles. The chemicals
from plastic bottles are ingested and tend to disturb our body’s
immune system.
But Jai and Veeru thrashed the attack of Kaalia and his Disposable
Water Bottles through a concerted counter-attack with Glass Bottles
and Flasks. Kaalia had to flee much to the delight of Thakur who knew
trusting Jai and Veeru was the best thing that he could have done.
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But Gabbar was not pleased and swiftly dealt with the failure of
Kaalia.
“Ab Goli Khaa”
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Chapter 6:
“Basanti, Plastic ke in cheap benefits ke saamne
mat naachna”
Meanwhile Gabbar was trying to destroy Thakur by highlighting
the short term benefits of plastic such as low cost and easy
availability. But Veeru and Jai were focused on fighting the long
term ill effects:
“Basanti, Plastic ke in cheap benefits ke saamne mat naachna”
Remember:
1. It Upsets the Food Chain
Because it comes in sizes large and small, polluting plastics even affect
the world’s tiniest organisms such as plankton. When these organisms
become poisoned due to plastic ingestion, this causes problems for the
larger animals that depend on them for food. This can cause a whole
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slew of problems, each step further along the food chain. Plus, it means
that plastic are present in the fish that many people eat every day.
2. Groundwater Pollution
Water conservation is already a concern in places ranging from
California to parts of India, but the world’s water is in great danger
because of leaking plastics and waste. If you’ve ever seen a garbage
dump, imagine what happens every time it rains – then imagine that
being in your drinking water. Groundwater and reservoirs are
susceptible to leaking environmental toxins.
Most of the litter and pollution affecting the world’s oceans also
derives from plastics. This has had terrible consequences on many
marine species, which can lead to consequences for those that eat fish
and marine life for nutrients – including people.
3. Land Pollution
When plastic is dumped in landfills, it interacts with water and form
hazardous chemicals. When these chemicals seep underground, they
degrade the water quality. Wind carries and deposits plastic from one
place to another, increasing the land litter. It can also get stuck on
poles, traffic lights, trees, fences, tower etc. and animals that may come
in the vicinity and might suffocate them to death.
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3. Air Pollution
Burning of plastic in the open air, leads to environmental pollution due
to the release of poisonous chemicals. The polluted air when inhaled by
humans and animals affect their health and can cause respiratory
problems.
3. It Kills Animals
Despite countless TV ads over the years showing ducks or dolphins
trapped in six-ring plastic can holders, these items are still used and
discarded en masse each day. Whether because the mass of plastic has
displaced animals or the related toxins have poisoned them, plastic
pollution does a lot of damage to the world’s ecosystems.
4. It is Poisonous
Man artificially makes plastic by using a number of toxic chemicals.
Therefore, use of and exposure to plastics has been linked to a number
of health concerns affecting people around the world. The processes of
making, storing, disposing of, and just being around plastics can be
extremely harmful to living things.
5. It is Expensive
It costs millions of dollars each year to clean affected areas after
exposure, not to mention the loss of life to plants, animals, and people.
As land becomes more valuable, just finding a place to put garbage is
becoming a problem in many parts of the world. Plus, excess pollution
has lead to decreased tourism in affected areas, significantly impacting
those economies.
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Chapter 7:
“Plastic agar ek problem laayega to hum chaar
solution denge ...”
Undeterred by Gabbar’s threats and determined to end the woes of
Thakur, Jai and Veeru embarked on a massive counter attack to
dislodge the evil grip of Gabbar’s Plastic Propaganda. Their focus was
on minimizing Plastic Waste and these are the tips that they lined up:
1. Shop Friendly
Plastic bags were once a modern convenience but can be efficiently
replaced by reusable bags, many of which fold up compactly in order to
be portable. Just think about how many bags you typically carry out of a
grocery store, and multiply that by the number of times you grocery
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shop. That’s a lot of plastic! Carry a bag and always reuse plastic bags as
much as possible if you have them.
2. Get Rid of Bottled Water
People are meant to drink lots of water each day, and plastic water
bottles have become a great way to stay hydrated throughout the day.
However, most of these are only recommended for single use, and that
means that every time someone finishes a bottle it goes into the trash.
Many companies now sell reusable water bottles as a substitute,
reducing plastic waste and exposure to leaking bottles.
3. Forget to-go Containers
You would be surprised at how much plastic is involved in the making
and packaging of food containers. Think the coffee shop’s drink cup is
paper? It’s likely lined with plastic for insulation (pour a cup of coffee
on some cardboard and see what happens).
Plastic food containers, lids, and utensils are all easily replaced by
reusable containers, which will cut down significantly on even a single
meal’s waste.
4. Educate Businesses
Speak to local restaurants and businesses about options that they can
switch to for packaging, storing, and bagging items. Many companies
are starting to come up with excellent low-cost replacements, such as
bamboo utensils in place of plastic ones.
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5. Get Involved
Speak to lawmakers and get involved with government on any level,
and you’ll see how many special interest groups have made it so that
we are dependent on plastic without needing to be. Encourage
development of items, and propose alternatives when applicable.
6. Recycle Everything
Try and select items that come in non-plastic recycled and recyclable
packaging, to do your best to properly handle items that can’t be
reused. Check everything before you put it in the trash, as more and
more items are able to be recycled these days.
Remember that because plastic doesn’t break down easily (if ever),
recycling plastic means that it is still plastic, just being used for a
different purpose. Therefore, you’re not actually reducing plastic
amounts or exposure, even in the recycling process.
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Chapter 8:
“Yeh Sirf Awareness Nahi…Plastic pollution ke gale
mein Faansi ka fanda hain”
And finally…Gabbar was tamed by Thakur and his Plastic-
Propaganda was undone with the help of Jai and Veeru.
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Chapter 9:
“Common Sense aur Knowledge:
Yeh Dosti Hum Nahi Chhorenge”
Never allow any rift to appear between the best friends Veeru
and Jai. With them on your side, you can beat any evil on earth.
Thakur is yearning for your help to beat Gabbar’s Plastic Attack.
Don’t hold back your Knowledge and Common Sense.
Let go of any plastic that cannot be re-used; Now.
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Here is a quick summary of what we need to do:
Choose to reuse when it comes to shopping bags and bottled water.
Cloth bags and metal or glass reusable bottles are available locally at
great prices.
Refuse single-serving packaging, excess packaging, straws and other
"disposable" plastics. Carry reusable utensils in your purse, backpack or
car to use at bbq's, potlucks or take-out restaurants.
Reduce everyday plastics such as sandwich bags and juice cartons by
replacing them with a reusable lunch bag/box that includes a thermos.
Bring your to-go mug with you to the coffee shop, smoothie shop or
restaurants that let you use them, which is a great way to reduce lids,
plastic cups and/or plastic-lined cups.
Go digital! No need for plastic cds, dvds and jewel cases when you can
buy your music and videos online.
Seek out alternatives to the plastic items that you rely on.
Recycle. If you must use plastic, try to choose those which are the most
commonly recycled plastics. Avoid plastic bags and polystyrene foam as
both typically have very low recycling rates.
Volunteer at a beach cleanup.
Support plastic bag bans, polystyrene foam bans and bottle recycling
bills.
Spread the word. Talk to your family and friends about why it is
important to reduce plastic in our lives and the nasty impacts of plastic
pollution.
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Chapter 10:
“WED Kab hain? Kab Hain WED”?
World Environment Day is a UN Environment-led global event,
the single largest celebration of our environment each year,
which takes place on June 5 and is celebrated by thousands of
communities worldwide.
Since it began in 1972, it has grown to become a global platform
for public outreach that is widely celebrated across the globe.
Most of all, World Environment Day is a day of everyone around
the world to take ownership of their environment and to actively
engage in the protection of our earth.
World Environment Day 2018 – Pointers.
India is the global host of 2018 World Environment Day
which will take place on June 5, 2018.
With “Beat Plastic Pollution” as the theme for this year’s
edition, the world is coming together to combat single-use
plastic pollution.
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Disclaimer
Yaad Rakkhunga!
This book is purely meant for raising in house awareness and is not for
external circulation or any kind of commercial use. The
information/date used in this book are sourced from various
articles/research papers available in public domain and are not
intended for any commercial use or external dissemination.
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