Editorial: Wasting away, a tonne at a time

A study released this week said that over eight million tonnes of plastic waste had been generated globally on account of the pandemic, and of this, 25,000 tonnes have made their way into oceans. The study spanning the beginning of 2020 to August 2021, paints Asia in a poor light as the continent accounts for the bulk of the plastic waste being dumped in the oceans via rivers (73%), with hospital waste forming a significant portion of it.

The top three contributors in Asia in the discharge of plastic waste into oceans through rivers are the Indus, the Shatt al-Arab and the Yangtze rivers which end up in the Persian Gulf, Arabian Sea and the East China Sea, respectively. European rivers have contributed to just 11% of the waste being dumped into the sea, an indicator of how its nations have kept a tight leash on the disposal of plastics in their territories. The spike in demand for single-use plastic items such as face masks, gloves and shields was a big cause for such pollution.

Our city of Chennai is going through a tumultuous phase with torrential rains lashing at it since Sunday. Excavators clearing stormwater drains and culverts have unearthed thousands of tonnes of plastic waste that clogged these outlets and prevented them from absorbing the influx of excess rainwater. It doesn’t take much to gauge how our indifference to the disposal of plastics could affect our lives in the long term.

A non-profit outfit working in advocating policy to tackle plastic waste estimates just 60% of the plastic waste is collected in India and sent for recycling. The remaining 40% (10,376 tonnes) remains uncollected. There’s also the bane of downcycling where high-quality plastics are converted into new plastics of lower quality, like plastic bottles turned into polyester to be used in clothes, which decreases its lifespan, and speeds up its journey to the incinerator. We must also consider how plastics has entrenched itself into our lives - from a cup of coffee to consumer durables vying for the title ‘use and throw’. Couple this with the engine of consumerism that drives food aggregators, e-tailers, and anyone, who is part of the commercial value chain, including yourself, becomes part of the problem.

The onus of curbing pollution depends, to a great extent, on political will and scientific comprehension, something Tamil Nadu is never short of. Four years ago, the State’s then Co-operatives Minister Sellur K Raju attempted to save the State from drought by using thermocol sheets taped together to cover the surface of a water body in Madurai and prevent evaporation. Nature had other plans, as a gust of wind shredded the thermocol sheets placed at the Vaigai dam. When asked about the use of thermocol, made of polystyrene beads, which could get deposited on the river bed, entail water pollution, and harm marine species, a government official said that since only a limited number of sheets were used, the waste could be retrieved.

Making light of political will might be a low hanging fruit in India. Even recently, the Delhi government responded bizarrely to the incessant problem of the water of river Yamuna spewing out toxic foam, resulting from the dumping of industrial effluents in the river. An employee of the Delhi Jal Board was deputed on a day-long duty to spray water from a hose into the river to keep the foam at bay, a dampener for devotees who were standing waist-deep in the poisonous froth on the occasion of Chhath Puja.

The Centre had announced that with effect from July 1, 2022, the sale and use of most single-use plastics will be banned. This measure must entail enforcement to a high degree, but there are structural issues as well. Like the need for policies that can regulate the use of plastic alternatives, improvements in the recycling value chain, and better management of waste segregation and medical waste. A fundamental need is to strengthen enforcement on source segregation, that is separation of biodegradable and non-biodegradable waste at the home front itself.