> Why no Plastic?

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.

  • Step 1: Disposing Plastics in a safe way
    • In earlier days, Milkwala comes with his Milk CAN tied to his bicycle bell ringing and we take our own reusable containers to take the milk from him. But this has been totally changed for past few years and nowour days starts with Plastic cover milk in the morning till the Chips we ate in the evening.

      1. Are we disposingthe Plastic covers properly?
      2. Do we aware we are mixing the Kitchen waste along with Plastic items?
      3. Do we know the Plastics we dispose along with other wastes gets dumped in landfills?
      4. How many of us know Plastic can be recycled into new product?

      I think most of us have answers for this questions but how many of us have taken steps to ensure that the waste from our house is not ending up in landfill. Its right time to act! Go and get 3 colour bins from the market and start source segregation at home

      1. Blue bin for your dry waste. Dry waste is Paper,Plastic,metal,glass,rubber,fabric,wood. Anything that can be kept for an extended period without decomposing.It can be recycled to conserve as much of our resources as possible
      2. Green bin for your wet waste. Wet waste is a type of waste which can be broken down in a reasonable amount of time by micro-organisms and other living things. Vegetable and fruit peels, left-over or unconsumed foods ,non-vegetarian items,bakery paper, wrapping,butterpaper,twigs , leaves and grass.
      3. Red bin for your Sanitary and residual waste. Includes Sanitary napkins, tampons, diapers, condoms, toilet papers, dental floss and ear buds.
      4. E-waste : Anything which is connected with a battery or a current is called as E-waste. Devices like old phones,, computer peripherals ,mobiles, cables , wires, bulbs ,batteries, UPS and stabilizers ,etc..

      Well done! Please pat your own back ..you have started your Source segregation.. But one question might have raised in you ? What I will do with the segregated waste in blue, red and Green bins. There are so many vendors available in the market to collect dry waste and Kambhas are available for composting. We can even dig a pit for composting. Earth recyclers is one stop solution for all types of waste. ER provides better solution for your houses individually or as a community. Lets make a change by recycling with Earth recyclers to make Nammaboomi(Our earth) better.
  • Step 2: Reduce the usage of Plastics
    • Hurray!! We started disposing plastics properly…With no guilty feel , We can think of now how we can reduce the usage of Plastics in our day-to-day life.. It requires a small change of habit in our lifestyle.

      ..Here goes the list

      1. CARRY YOUR OWN SHOPPING BAGS:


      Why : BecausePlastic bags are the cause of major environmental concerns. Statistics show that we are consuming more and more plastics every year. It is estimated that an average individual uses around 130 plastic bags per year.Cows are mistakenly ingesting plastic bags on the streets as they are scavenging for food and end up choking or starving to death, as the plastic cannot be digested.

      Where : Carry whatever works for you.Carry when you go to the grocery store, retail clothing store, book store, restaurants, etc. .NB has variety of cloth bags which can withstand from minimum 4 kgs tomaximum 15 kgs…Get it now…Take a pledge to carry your own bag

      2. Give up bottled water:


      Why: Plastic bottles contain BisphenolA (BPA), the chemical used to make the plastic hard and clear. BPA is an endocrine disruptor which has been proven to be hazardous to human health. It has been strongly linked to a host of health problems including certain types of cancer, neurological difficulties, early puberty in girls, reduced fertility in women, premature labour, and defects in newborn babies – to name a few examples. BPA enters the human body through exposure to plastics such as bottled drinks and cleaning products

      It’s harder to recycle plastic bottles than you think. Of the mass numbers of plastic bottles consumed throughout the world,most of them are not recycled because only certain types of plastic bottles can be recycled by certain municipalities. They either end up lying stagnant in landfills, leaching dangerous chemicals into the ground, or they infiltrate our streets as litter. They are found on sidewalks, in parks, front yards and rivers, and even if you chop them into tiny pieces they still take more than a human lifetime to decompose.

      Where: Wherever you go out, take a water with you and refill it wherever you happen to be. NB has a reusable Butterfly stainless steel bottle. Generally people don’t recommend reusable plastic or aluminum bottles. Plastic may leach chemicals into the water and aluminum bottles are lined with an epoxy resin, some of which has also found to leach into water depending on the brand. Why take a chance?

      3. Say no to Styrofoam/thermocole plates for your parties


      We are using thermocole/paper cups even for 10 guests at home.
      1. Are we become lazy to even wash 10 cups and plates
      2. Are we using because its trendy

      Check out the effects of Styrofoam:

      1. The process of making polystyrene pollutes the air and creates large amounts of liquid and solid waste.
      2. Toxic chemicals leach out of these products into the food that they contain (especially when heated in a microwave). These chemicals threaten human health and reproductive systems.
      3. These products are made with petroleum, a non-sustainable and heavily polluting resource

      The better Alternative is banana leaf and Areca palm plates

      4. Bring your own container for meat and prepared foods


      We usually take our containers to local butcher shop/mutton stalls during 1980’s.Though we plan and go to buy meat … we are preferring black plastic covers as the plastic covers are easily available with him. Take your own container and refuse plastic cover!

      5. Choose milk in returnable glass bottles /have your own container


      Still in most of the villages and towns ,Milkwala brings milk in containers and people buy milk in their own vessels…In cities, We have minimal options like getting milk directly from the Milk vendors. Astra dairy milk has come up with milk in returnable glass bottles. Unfortunately , the milk bottle does contain an unrecyclable plastic cap. But It would be better buy milk in a glass bottle capped with plastic than milk contained in plastic on all sides.

      6. Refuse and demand reusable utensils in restaurant


      In earlier days, we drink coffee inDabara sets and food in reusable plates .Now because of easily available disposable paper cups and plates and thermocoleplates..restaurants switched over to this plates. It effectively reduces the washing time and cost of labour. But we forget how the disposable things are filling up so fast the landfills. Its time to stand up and assertively refuse and demand for reusable plates, cups, spoons and forks.

      7. Carry your own containers for take out food and leftovers


      Earlier we used to carry food carrier to hotels to get our food but now we are lazy enough to carry the food carrier and even forgot that culture.. Requesting you to carry the food carriers so that there is no packaging waste and you get healthy food. If you put food in the hot plastic containers, it reacts and leeches chemicals into the food.

      8. Giveup Straws


      I am able to hear your mind voice that Wont we miss the fun if we drink the juice without straws. Apart from its fun face , Plastic straws are the viruses of garbage, tiny and lightweight enough to clip through the cracks of the waste recycling process and into the pelagic ecosystem. Straws end up in a sea of floating plastics and sea animals mistake them for food. Plastic straws are made up of polypropylene-a petroleum bi-product , which is the same stuff that fuels our vehicles.Straws and other plastics are chock-full of known carcinogens like BishenolA (BPA), that leech both into our drinks through straws and into the ocean when they wind up there as waste. This is something those with young parents might especially want to consider when offering their children another sippy straw-equipped drink box.

      9. Treat yourself to an icecream cone


      The better way to avoid plastic cup / spoon is to have ice cream in the cone ..Here Wewont miss the fun and the waste coming out of this fun is ZERO J….Awesome… What an idea Sirji…

      10. Carry lunches and snacks in a stainless steel boxes


      Carrying lunches and snacks becomes trendy in past 10 years… Before that we carry in stainless steel boxes…Plastic boxes react with hot lunches and snacks , that leech into the food which is very harmful for kids…Its time to say good bye to the Plastic lunch boxes for healthy kids!!