You might be wondering Why NAMMABOOMI is stressing towards saying goodbye to PLASTICS!
Hope you all are aware of ill effects of Nuclear weapons. Few famous examples are Hiroshima, Nagasaki, Chernobyl and Fukushima.
World war I and II resulted in many immediate impacts. With Word war II war weaponry saw nuclear weapons which led to many immediate damages which are still far from repaired, restored. Wars are nothing less than earthquakes which results in immediate devastation as well as several everlasting aftereffects. One such after effects from the World War II is the plastic usage revolution.
Plastic became popular after World War 2 (1940’s and 50’s).WW II accelerated the production of synthetic replacements for rope, rubber, metal and paper. Plastics pushed us into throw-away culture. As plastics are cheap and easily disposable, we became slaves to throwaway culture. Before this, we saved everything. Wives/Moms could be more productive by not having to waste time washing and putting dishes away. We don’t allow workers to waste time and energy by washing tumblers/glasses as we have easy disposable cups available.
The Cheap Production of plastics provided economic growth and gave birth to a new age of “Throw-Away Living” in the 1950’s.But this is not a sustainable way to live, plastic never goes away (means that it does not bio-degrade—No natural process can break it down.)
Many people don’t know that most plastics are made frompetroleum(oil or natural gas) and that plastic contains whole host of other chemicals that are never labeled and that can be toxic to animals and humans. Studies show that some toxins in plastics are building up in humans and that some of us may be experiencing serious health effects as a result.Phthalates are chemicals used in many plastics to make them soft or flexible, i.e. plasticizers. They are widely used in plastic products in the food and construction industries, plus they are used extensively in beauty products, pesticides, wood finishes, insect repellents, solvents and lubricants. There are a number of phthalates with differing though often overlapping health effects. Studies have linked various phthalates to abnormal male sexual development, male infertility, premature breast development, cancer, miscarriage, premature birth and asthma. Because phthalates are not chemically bound to the plastic polymer, they can easily migrate out.
However, because of the popularity of plastics and because people today becomes dependent to plastics, and most plastic items are disposable, they cause harm to the environment. Petroleum plastic doesn't easily break down, but we make products from it that are designed to throw away. However plastics photo-degrade, which means sunlight breaks it into smaller pieces but it takes 1000 years to break down completely. We call this cradle to grave.Since the plastic do not dissolve, they could cause flood if they block the drainage, sometimes birds eat them and it cause death to the birds, and the process of making plastic release carbon dioxide is causing harm to the atmosphere.
Plastic! Plastic! Plastic! Everywhere on the roads,in the streets,in the landfills and in the ocenas..now lets us what is the effect and what could be the solution for that??
The use of Plastics in our day to day life is indispensable. From cell phones to computers to artificial hearts to tooth brushes. We are surrounded by it. Plastic is strong and durable and should be made for things that need to last a long time like tires, computers even Currency. But plastics Should NOT be for “disposable” things that are used for a minute or two and then thrown away-- Plastic carry bags, water bottles, Paper/Plastic cups, Styro-foam /paper plates.
This throw-away culture generates disgusting amounts of plastic waste which ends up in landfills. And this filling of land with plastics lead to air, water pollution resulting in various life threatening diseases such as cancer Plastics also endanger life of animals pollute environment and the complete eco-system.
Nammaboomi proposes three step process to slowly bid adieu to plastics.
1. By kicking off used plastics to its quick dead zone (recycling units) i.e., by disposing plastics in a safe way so that they are recycled instead of adding up to landfills.
2. By reducing usage of plastics.
3. By using bio-degradable alternatives in place of plastics wherever possible, ultimately it will help us to lead a “Zero Waste” life.