Tamil writer Azhagiya Periyavan New Series on plastic Tamil News: The world is using plastic more and more while saying that it should be eliminated. Or is stuck not knowing how to get rid of it.
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Beautiful big guy
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The world is not single-use plastic
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This century is the century of plastic! Now we cannot pass a day without plastic. Toothbrush, soap bottle, water bottle, oil bottle, comb, facial powder bottle, food bottle, water pipe, water can, product packaging, medical equipment, bags, buckets, electrical appliances, roof sheets, synthetic leather recliners, chairs, CD trays , Nylon Products, Synthetic Garments, Imitation Glasses, Auto Parts, Computer Products. Many more such items. Everything is plastic!
The world is using more and more plastic while saying that it should be eliminated. Or is stuck not knowing how to get rid of it. Moreover, there is a lot of hesitation and apathy in India whether to abolish it or not.
Plastic
Animal horns, tusks, tortoise shell, rubber etc. were used in the beginning to make various household items. Animal horns and tusks, especially pliable when heated, were increasingly used to make things like combs, piano blocks, and billiard balls.
Western scientists have been trying to prepare a substitute for these. Around that time, Alexander Burks, in 1862, discovered that cellulose nitrate and cotton fibers dissolved in sulfur and nitric acid, forming a flexible substance when mixed with vegetable oil.
Later he displayed this object at an exhibition in Birmingham, England. It was a cheaper alternative to ivory and tortoiseshell. He patented this material under the name Burgison.
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Daniel Spill, John Wesley, and Hyatt, who were with him, set up a celluloid manufacturing plant using this technique. This celluloid helped a great deal in the production of film rolls and multi-colored spectacles. Then Leo Backland, a chemist from Belgium, invented synthetic plastics made entirely of chemicals in 1907. The substance he discovered was formed when he heated the chemical formaldehyde and phenol under high pressure. He named it Backlight. This dark-colored, wood-like backlight was used to make electrical buttons, artifacts, cameras, radios, and telephones.
An attempt to fuse ethylene and benzaldehyde under heat and pressure failed. But as oxygen gas then entered the cell, it reacted with them to form a white waxy substance. Polyethylene, a commercial plastic material that is used in many ways today, was accidentally discovered.
It was first used as a protective material on the connecting tracks of radar equipment during World War II! Today’s plastic is a chemical obtained through the polymerization of organic matter, hydrogen, petroleum, or natural gas. It has the properties to be flexible or rigid due to heat.
Business of Plastics
Plastic products business is leading in India. More than four million people work in this sector alone. Plastics, linoleum, household goods, fishing nets, medical instruments, commercial goods wrappers, plastic films, pipes etc. are mostly manufactured here.
பிளாஸ்டிக் தயாரிப்புக்குத் தேவையான கச்சாப்பொருட்களை சுமார் 200 நாடுகளுக்கு இந்தியா ஏற்றுமதி செய்கிறது. அமெரிக்கா, சீனா, ஐக்கிய அரபு எமிரேட்ஸ், ஜெர்மனி, இத்தாலி, பங்களாதேஷ், நேபாளம், இங்கிலாந்து, துருக்கி, பிரான்சு, வியட்நாம், இந்தோனேஷியா ஆகிய நாடுகளுக்கு அதிகளவில் அனுப்புகிறது. 2021 ஆம் ஆண்டு மட்டும் இந்தியாவின் பிளாஸ்டிக் வணிகம் 162 மில்லியன் அமெரிக்க டாலர். இது 2025 க்குள் 25 பில்லியன் டாலராக வேண்டும் என்று இலக்கு வைத்திருக்கிறது இந்தியா! பிளாஸ்டிக் தயாரிப்பை ஊக்குவிக்க PLEXCONCIL என்ற அமைப்பே அரசால் ஏற்படுத்தப் பட்டிருக்கிறது. உலக அளவிலான பிளாஸ்டிக் தயாரிப்பு மற்றும் வணிகத்தின் மதிப்பு 593.00 பில்லியன் அமெரிக்க டாலர்கள்.
A handbook published by Friends of the Earth says that the development of plastic production is related to the commercial and economic policies of liberalism. It is also closely related to consumer culture and urbanization. Millions of jute farmers have lost their jobs due to the arrival of plastic industries. Apart from that, plastic pipes have penetrated into agriculture today and are encouraging commercial crop production called drip irrigation.
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Damage caused by plastic
There are two types of effects caused by plastic, namely environmental damage and health damage to humans and other species. More than 245 million tons of plastic products are produced globally every year. Most of these are single-use plastics. Their production percentage is 40%.
Mass-produced plastics slowly began to fill the world as they became cheaper, easier to manufacture, and easier to handle. Today, plastic is found everywhere in oceans, mountains, land, and water bodies.
It was slowly realized that plastic is non-biodegradable. And that’s where the danger of sticking with plastic begins. Even a tin can or an aluminum container will decompose in about 500 years. But even after millions of years, plastic breaks down into particles and does not decompose. This is a polluting Markandeyan, as it is said in Hindu mythology!
The world is littered with billions of tons of plastic waste. As they are burned excessively, the smoke from them pollutes the air severely. The topsoil becomes less fertile as it is buried in the ground. The plastic prevents air and water from entering the ground as it is spread over the ground. Plastic debris accumulates in water bodies and oceans, killing aquatic life and affecting the ecosystem’s food chain. Today, from small towns to big cities, disposal of plastic waste has become a huge problem. As the Friends of the Earth handbook compares, the problem of disposing of this plastic waste is comparable to the problem of disposing of nuclear waste.
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Studies show that the use of plastic causes serious health problems for humans and other species. As 90% of plastics are made from fossil fuels (petroleum and natural gas) they emit dangerous toxins. Burning them and the plastic particles release highly dangerous chemicals including phthalates, poly-fluorinated chemicals, biphenol-A (BPA), brominated radiation, and antimony trioxide into water, land, food, and the body. This causes various types of cancers, nervous diseases, reproductive defects, immune disorders, damage to the senses like eyes and skin, respiratory disorders, digestive disorders, liver and brain.
Plastic Ban in India
ஒருமுறை பயன்படுத்தி தூக்கி எறியப்படும் பிளாஸ்டிக்கை அண்மையில் ஒன்றிய அரசு தடைசெய்திருக்கிறது. இந்தியா இந்த பிளாஸ்டிக் தடையை மிகத்தாமதமாக அவசரக் கோலத்தில், ஒரு கடமைக்கு அறிவித்திருக்கிறது.
This includes a variety of single-use plastics including carry bags, plastic earplugs, straws, tumblers, tablecloths, and baking wrappers. There is some confusion in this notification as well. The announcement of the Union Government says that this ban does not apply to the respective manufacturing companies as there is a rule that the plastics used for packaging should be disposed of by them. It’s weird.
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Today, excessive amounts of plastics are used for packaging products. Similarly, many products like shampoo, oil, pickles come in small packets. It does not appear that there are any restrictions or restrictions on half-liter, quarter-liter water and soft drink bottles in this notification. In this case we have to say that we are late as usual.
In 2002, Bangladesh announced a ban on plastic. It is our neighbor! Today more than eighty countries in the world have completely or partially banned plastic. These countries include 30 least developed African countries. Kenya announced a strict plastic ban in 2017. It is known to be the most strict country on plastic ban today.
A study in Kenya found plastic to be the cause of flooding and clogged drains. It was also found that more than half of the country’s livestock died after eating plastic. As a result, if they used plastic, they were sentenced to four years in jail or a fine of several lakhs of rupees.
Thailand has implemented a plastic ban from 2020. Small packets in particular were strictly prohibited. Rwanda has had a plastic ban in place since 2008. There is already a plastic ban in the US and European countries.
Even a decade ago, it was customary to carry stacks of bowls and utensils to take food to restaurants. Steel tumblers and glass tumblers were used in tea and juice shops and for banquets. Groceries were packed in paper bags. Banana leaves and other leaves were used to make everything from flowers to meat. They drank soft drinks by mouthing and lifting them without a suction tube! Fragile and shiny items were wrapped around straw. Paper envelopes and cloth bags were in use. The present world did not suddenly jump!
But this plastic has created laziness, indifference and irresponsibility among people, giving away mugs, indirectly encouraging ‘individualism’ and inciting alienation (or casteism). Single-use plastic caters to the needs of an elite consumer culture and spreads that impact down to the bottom of society.
There are many people who go home in the morning with a bag of tea that is poured into a plastic bag and tied for baking. Plastic sheets are used instead of idli cloth in snack shops. No bananas to eat. Plastic sheets. In restaurants, gravy and various chutneys are packed in plastic wraps. Plastic bags in greengrocers and grocery stores.
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Indifference coupled with profit motive shown by traders as plastic bags are cheaper compared to banana leaf and paper. The indifference of the people combined with the irresponsible spontaneity of buying things in plastic bags without throwing hands wherever they go. Intertwined with these is scientific ignorance. Government transparency. All these together have created the plastic problem.
Due to selfishness, ignorance and irresponsibility, the plastic products we use are releasing more and more greenhouse gases such as methane and ethylene when exposed to heat and sunlight. Due to this the global warming is increasing. Being is a world. The world is not a single-use plastic to buy another if it wears out.
The government should create awareness about the plastic ban that has just been announced and reduce the use of plastic by imposing severe penalties and fines. People should come out of their ignorance, indifference and selfishness and realize the danger posed by plastic and act.
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