When more than a decade back, I first watched Wall-E, it looked nothing more than a dystopian fantasy, a doomed love story set in a world as plastic as the characters themselves. Flash forwards a decade ahead, and wall E seems to pose a more utopian view than the current earth pollution trends show – a soon-to-be garbage-strewn wasteland courtesy to rampant consumerism, corporate greed, and environmental neglect. Mostly oblivious, we still need to grasp the quandary we are in – we don’t have another habitable planet to levitate through the milky way. It’s more like “The 100” than having several robots to do things for us while we enjoy a glass of Piña colada. The rising mountains of trash – mostly unsustainable leftovers like plastic, in every city are exponentially taking over.
Do you know? India generates approximately 5.6 million tons of plastic waste annually. Much of this is not collected, managed, recycled, or put to other use.
The victim of our actions (or inaction) is not just the environment or earth, but human health, the longevity of each one of us, the marine life, the wildlife, and our loved pets would be affected as well. Diseases such as asthma, birth defects, cancer, cardiovascular disease, childhood cancer, COPD, infectious diseases, low birth weight, and preterm delivery is already a gloomy reality that is wide-spreading every day.
Space Debris
We, humans, are not only the reason for huge trash on earth but around the earth as well. Space debris is defunct artificial objects in space—principally in Earth orbit—which no longer serve a useful function. Several million pieces of space junk are orbiting around earth and it is rising every day.
During the 20th century, the urban population grew and the developing consumer society amplified the waste production by more than ten folds. While we are making efforts to and revelling increase in our purchasing capabilities are we equally aware of the accountabilities that come with it? Our every seemingly small conscious decision push that gloomy future away.
A Tomorrow of Trash
"Every year we dump a massive 2.12 + billion tons of waste. If all this waste was put on trucks, they would go around the world 24 times. This stunning amount of waste is partly because 99 percent of the stuff we buy is trashed within 6 months."
The Plastic Era: Plastic defining a new human epoch
Plastic- The cheap magical product that has found its home in every corner of our life – from our phone or laptop right now we are using, to the food we eat; our office desk or our kitchen; in every part of human life – plastic is omnipresent! Sadly, though, the same is true for plastic waste – from landfills to oceans, it is everywhere.
Do you know?
"More than 1 million seabirds and 100,000 marine animals die from plastic pollution every year."
The weight of the world population in plastic
"The annual production of plastic of 450 million tons is close to the weight of the entire human population of the planet. The total amount of plastic produced could reach a staggering 30 billion tons by the end of the century."
What can we do?
Buy Consciously! Several green companies are making efforts to re-vision technology and come up with products using materials that are not just natural or sustainable but create Zero Waste. Zero waste is a philosophy that encourages redesign so that all products are reused. The process is similar to the way resources are reused in nature.
Here are some products that can help you make a more sustainable choice:
1. Plastic Makeup kits/organizers/stationery boxes – say no to them when you can have a chic and sustainable Bamboo Doco by Mianzi.
2. Plastic Chairs and Stools -You are wiser than that. Bring home the beautiful, ergonomically comfortable, and thoughtful bamboo chairs and bamboo stools.
3. Plastic baskets – do you have to? Here are some hand-designed bamboo stackable baskets that will not only organize your home but will help you do your bit for the environment.
4. Plastic Trays, Hangers, and Mirrors – still? Look at these eco-conscious options by Mianzi and decide for yourself.
Remember the path is long but have you taken the first step?
An amazing collection of sustainable furniture options. We can only hope more and more people will realise the value of buying consciously.
Wow! I am not shocked to read this but worried for sure. The amount of plastic waste washing into the oceans is expected to triple in volume over the next 20 years 🤯🤯 What will we do? When I read about South Africa having zero water, I was shocked but seems like that soon will be reality for more and more countries. We should let go of plastic and start buying sustainable options.