Plastic Cutlery Results In 22,000 Tonnes Of Waste Every Month
Now this is old news, the article was published on Indiatimes in 2018, we are almost entering 2022! And we are sure that this figure might have swelled by manifold.
Reason! Covid-19 lockdowns and restrictions obviously led to heavy use of plastics, not particularly for cutlery but other medical and safety items that are predominantly made of plastics. However, that’s not the exact focus of our blog post here today. Even on an optimistic note lets just presume that the plastic cutlery consumption stayed stable and the waste generated was still 22K tonnes per month, the picture is as gloomy as it can get.Clearly we are choking our country and the planet.
Here is another food for thought:
The estimation is based on the orders that are processed by food delivery apps, so we are actually very far from the naked truth here.
Our research led to one more blatant fact about the single use plastic situation in India. Although the data is not very direct, still all of us can draw certain estimations based on it.
As per the estimation of the Central Pollution Control Board, India generates more than 25,000 tonnes of plastic waste every day, out of which nearly 40 per cent remains uncollected and littered in the environment. The primary reason for these sky- touching numbers is economic development, resulting in higher demand for goods in the FMCG sector Owing to its strength, low cost and durability, plastic has emerged as one of the most reliable packaging materials, which on the flip side, has resulted in the challenge of plastic waste management. Due to its low cost, finding a cheap and, at the same time, a green alternative has become a challenging task.
2018 – 22K Tonnes of cutlery plastic waste a month – 2021 – 25K Tonnes of plastic waste per day.
Somewhere between these numbers, there is a lethal situation brewing up. We have to curb it, and do something that matters. At Carragreen, we have already started doing our part. Imagine if every meal aggregator and restaurant in the country switches to eco-friendly packaging solutions as provided by companies like us.
We are looking at a healthy 10000 tonnes of single use plastic reduction every month by optimistic estimates. Now, this is our estimation and honestly we would need more data to put an exact number to it.
If everyone starts using eco-friendly food packaging everywhere, then we are sure that within a span of 5 years the planet earth will be way greener and healthier than it used to be.
To Summarise – Here are the expected outcomes of the world switching to eco-friendly food packaging:
- Significant reduction in land pollution caused by plastics
- Significant reduction in carcinogenic particles in food
- Healthier land,water & air
- Happier flora & fauna
Truth be told – there are so many benefits of reducing single use plastics that we would run out of words and space describing them here. Lets just say that our mother earth is poisoned and switching to eco-friendly packaging is one part of the life saving medicine that can restore her health.
Source : https://www.indiatimes.com/news/india/plastic-pain-plastic-cutlery-results-in-22-000-tonnes-of-waste-every-month-352907.html
Source: Indiatimes
Source: https://www.mondaq.com/india/waste-management/1128892/tackling-plastic-pollution