Karan Mangotra and Sourabh Manuja
There is an alarming increase in the number of COVID-19 cases in India. As more and more people are quarantined, so does the demand for non-public protective devices (PPEs). Insidiously, the amount of potentially infectious family waste is also beginning to accumulate.
As most COVID-19 instances remain asymptomatic or recover, others pull the used PPE, after 72 hours of isolation, according to Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) guidelines. These PPIs, basically plastics, are treated like any other waste, and this is where the management of single-use plastics (OPs) lies in this ongoing pandemic.
Plastics are durable, lightweight and can be obtained at low prices, and they also have flexible homes that bring medical and technological advances to the fashion society. To protect us and our front-line COVID-19 warriors, the role of the PPE cannot be overlooked.
Even in other sectors such as agriculture, electronics, packaging, textiles and maritime transport, they rely heavily on plastics. Its lightness makes long-distance shipping economical and, as a result, plastics are replacing other packaging materials. If plastics themselves are useful in many ways, what is problematic and a serious risk to the environment is their indiscriminate elimination.
Studies conducted through the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) have found that globally, 80 consistent with one percent of ocean waste comes from land activities and approximately 90 consistent with one percent of these wastes are basically SUP.
In India, the Plastic Waste Management Rules 2016 require local urban organizations (BBBs) to collect, store, transport, process and dispose of plastic waste; however, many UFLs across the country have failed to put it into force.
In a study conducted through TERI in 2019, only 8%, 5% and 4% of families in the municipalities of east Delhi, South Delhi and North Delhi, respectively, agreed to have separate control of plastic waste in their region. Obviously, this indicates that there is a pressing need to manage plastic waste through policy interventions, such as the manufacturer’s extended daily work (REP) and the verification systems (MRV) for UFL.
In September, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, at UNCLOD COP14 in New Delhi, reiterated his commitment to ban the SUP in the coming years. As a result, several ministries, government departments, and states have begun to apply general bans to SUPs. In India, the gigantic casual sector is concerned about the manufacture and recycling of these OORs, and much of this economy is based on these plastics. It is estimated that approximately 1.7 million more people are hired in the plastics production sector, directly and indirectly. Given this, the question is: is a general prohibition a prudent option?
The CPCB estimates that 94% of the plastics we consume are recyclable, but 60% are recycled. Unslified plastics are disposed of in a terrestrial or aquatic environment or brausly burned across the country, posing serious environmental problems.
In the post-COVID-19 world, where the purpose would be to save lives and livelihoods, experts believe that diverting waste from landfills to recycling can create six times more jobs and manage poorly controlled plastics.
Interventions on plastic waste control can only be effective when urban spaces have consistent waste collection, and an ecologically sound provision and consistent implementation of the relevant policy. It is also mandatory to announce 3Rs (reduce, reuse and recycle) among all citizens by encouraging them to transfer to sustainable opportunities, such as the washable cloth mask, thus creating less waste.
Given India’s socio-economic position, the challenge of plastic waste control can become an opportunity with strong administrative and political will. As India focuses on reclaiming its economy, greater culpable use of plastics can provide new opportunities for modernization, competitiveness and job creation, in line with its economic, social and environmental objectives. India wants to be more aware of this existing recovery, in a different way that we threaten to move from one pandemic to another: a plastic pandemic.
Coronavirus Essential Zydus Cadilla will begin Phase II vaccine testing tomorrow; a death by COVID-19 every 15 seconds, according to a report