JOIN USShun plastic, embrace life
A few years back, on my visit to a small Central African country, Rwanda, I was pleasantly surprised to observe that at a supermarket our groceries were packed in paper bags and handed to us. I was told that to possess a polythene or plastic bag in Rwanda is a crime and you can be jailed for the same.
With such stringent rules, the country had tackled its plastic scourge. Back home we are struggling with this menace because of our over-indulgence in plastic and our propensity to not let it go.
A close relative was recently diagnosed with leukaemia. The family was taken aback by this diagnosis because there was no family history, the said person had a healthy and robust disposition and with regular exercise and disciplined eating habits his probability to get such a dreadful disease came as a shock. The oncologist let us know that toxic chemicals (carcinogens) present in plastic are one amongst the main causes of cancer these days. He asked us to shun plastic products.
Any initiative taken by the government, NGOs, organisations working towards public welfare to create more awareness about the ill effects of the plastic on our lives will go a long way to save future generations.
Just last year, news about a unique initiative by Hisar municipal corporation caught my attention. The municipality tied up with two dhaba owners to provide free meals to people who deposit twenty empty plastic bottles. These empty bottles are used to grow plants and to make compost. It serves the dual purpose of a noble cause of providing free meals to the needy and getting away with the burgeoning plastic heaps in and around the city.
I have started my initiative to get away with the plastic. I always carry a jute bag, to put the groceries and my buys, with me when I go shopping. Once or twice the indulgent shopkeepers have tried to put my things in a polythene bag when I was not carrying my jute bag, but I had to firmly decline.
I have replaced plastic water bottles and tiffins with those of steel. There is still a mammoth’s load of plastic in my home but I have made a beginning. To shun plastic is not a choice, it’s the necessity of the hour for healthy living and to protect our future generations. Do not dilly dally! Rise up and make an effort. We all have to before it’s too late to correct our follies.