From the point of contaminating and adulterating our marine life to disrupting human body hormones and mechanism, from trashing our beaches and landscapes to blocking our landfills and waste streams, the aggressive use of plastics is now alarming the survival of our life and our planet.

Plastic is an inescapable evil. We can hardly do away with it. The amount of plastic which is being disposed off every year can circle down our planet four times. Every day we deal with plastic in some form or other like garbage and grocery bags, bottles, food containers, coffee cup lids, and various other products. Plastic and its products are very convenient to use but they do play a harmful role in polluting our environment along with threatening our quality of life. Production of plastic bags is increasing day by day but do we know where all the plastic is going? You will be astounded to know that billions of tons of plastic is summing up in the world’s oceans. The situation is such that even in the extreme polar latitudes you will find the discarded plastic products, which is a rising matter of concern.

Looking after the excessive use and production of plastic products the UN has declared “Beat Plastic Pollution” as the theme for this year World Environment Day. The day will encourage people to change their single use plastic products with other reusable alternatives as the world is coming together to fight the single-use plastic pollution.

World Environment Day is a global event lead by United Nations (UN). It is considered as the single largest celebration for our environment every year, which happens on 5^th June. The day is celebrated by thousands of communities all across the globe. The day encourages every individual across the globe to take the lead for their environment while getting actively engaged in the protection of our planet.

This year India will be the global host for the event. India is very excited as Indian philosophy and lifestyle has a long deep root connection with the concept of co-existence with nature. We are committed in making the planet Earth a cleaner and greener place to live and grow.

Some Facts about Plastic Pollution:

• Every year about 500 billion to 1 Trillion plastic bags are used by the people across the globe.
• Every minute one million plastic drinking bottles are purchased by the people around the globe.
• Every year minimum of 8 million tones of plastic end up in the oceans which is equivalent to a truck full of garbage every minute.
• 50% of the plastic that we use regularly is single use plastic or the disposable ones.
• Plastic is accountable for 10% of all the waste we generate every day.
• On an average half of all the plastic that is being produced is designed in such a way that they can be used only once and then thrown away.

Mentioned below are some small ways which when followed will bring out a bigger change:

• Wean yourself off disposal plastics: 90% of the plastics that we use in our daily lives such as grocery bags, plastic wrap, disposals cutlery, straws, coffee cups lids, etc are only used once and then they are chucked off. Try making a note of these products and try to replace them with reusable products.
• Stop buying water: Make sure you are carrying your reusable water bottle in your bag, because every year nearly about 20 billion of plastic water bottles are dumped in the trash.
• Stop using micro-beads: Various beauty products such as facial scrubs, toothpaste, body washes etc contains plastic scrubbers which might look harmless but because of their tiny size they slip through the water treatment plants. Sadly these tiny particles are mistaken as food to some marine animals while leading to their death. Hence try using natural products.
• Recycle: Recycling is very important but we are not doing a great job. Are we aware of the fact that Less than 14% of plastic packaging is recycled? We just need to check the number mentioned on the bottom of the container. Most of the beverages and liquid cleaner bottles will have #1 (PET) which is acceptable by majority of curbside recycling companies. Containers which are marked with #2 (HDPE; are typically slightly heavier duty bottles of milk, juice and laundry detergent) are all recyclable.
• Start shopping in bulk: It has been observed that majority of the waste is produced in the kitchen. The mot simplest method to reduce the packaging waste madness is to get our own bags and containers while shopping and stock up on bulk foods.
• Try to skip the frozen foods section as much as you can: We all know that frozen foods offers a great convenience but they do also come with plenty of plastic packaging. Doesn’t matter even these foods are packaged in those eco-friendly cardboard; there’s always a thin layer of plastic over the food. Giving up on frozen food is quite difficult but avoiding them will be best as we will be eating fewer processed foods while avoiding the chemicals present in the plastic packaging.

Metro Group of Hospitals is committed towards spreading awareness and empowering people in adopting nature friendly ways to reduce the burden on our mother planet Earth.