As more and more plastics turn up in oceans and cities fight a losing battle of how to deal with their plastic waste, the Centre For Environment Education (CEE) plans to ready at least 5,000 youth who will make an effort in reducing single-use plastic.
As more and more plastics turn up in oceans and cities fight a losing battle of how to deal with their plastic waste, the Centre For Environment Education (CEE) plans to ready at least 5,000 youth who will make an effort in reducing single-use plastic.
The organisation in association with UNEP and WWF India will be launching the Plastic Tide Turner initiative. The programme will enroll students who will be trained in reducing single-use plastic.
"The training involves three levels and the students will have to clear each level. The first level for instance will involve creating awareness among the participants about what is single-use plastic and why it is dangerous. Then it will involve the participants carrying out a self audit about their plastic use," said Abhishek Pawar, Project Officer with CEE.
He said the self audit that each participant will carry out will make them realise how much they contribute towards plastic pollution. "Then the students will take remedial action at a personal level. The second level will involve the participants taking their learning to the community. It can be school, colleges or their own society. Here too an audit will be carried out and efforts will be made to reduce plastic usage," said Pawar.
He said the final effort will involve taking it at the local body level. "Here the efforts can range from the participants ensuring that a certain stretch of road or a particular garden remain plastic free," said Pawar.
Purvansh Shah, a second year engineering student who is part of the programme said that until he began to be involved in the programme he did not realise how small efforts can go a long way in reducing plastic usage.
"I learned that we need not use straw for everything. It is a small thing but if we were to avoid using it we can avoid 'single-use plastic that is not going to be recycled," said Shah.
He said now he has taken to ensuring that the food that he gets delivered at home is not in plastic containers and that no plastic cutleries are given with it. "If we are at home when we order from restaurants we can definitely make use of the cutlery and plates at home," said Shah.
What can you do to reduce single use plastic
- Avoid plastic straws
- Try to carry your own bag while shopping
- Buy things in boxes instead of plastic bottles
- Buy in bulk or items that can be refilled
- While ordering takeaways opt for non-plastic packing and cutlery
What is single-use plastic
Single-use plastic are things made of plastic that are used only once. They often are thrown away and in many instances are not even recycled. Overall plastic waste can be reduced substantially by reducing the use of single-use plastic.
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