MUMBAI:
Maharashtra has taken a step towards reclaiming the environment by bringing about a ban on
plastic, though implementation has been extended by three months. But the state's ecosystem has already suffered extensive damage from the non-biodegradable material.
Experts say 24 crore trees will be needed to absorb the amount of
carbon dioxide that was generated over 15 years to produce the plastic items that have now been banned. According to estimates by environmentalists, the state’s four crore families generate about 2,400 tons of plastic waste a day, which is about 9% of the total waste generated daily (27,000 tons).
Every fourth day, such a volume is enough to tank up the 28-acre
Shivaji Park for up to a height of one metre (or a quarter of the park up to that height every day). If this rate is considered, people in the state have filled 1,380 Shivaji
Parks with plastic waste over 15 years. Also, each family has generated 300kg of plastic waste, after deducting about 10% for recycling, in 15 years. “Thus, each family has contributed to 1,800 kg of carbon dioxide (by the calculation that 6kg of CO2 is generated in the production of 1kg of plastic).
As many as 24 crore trees will be required to absorb the CO2 produced thus by all families in the state over 15 years (see graphic for details),” said a professional who works with the state environment department. Former BNHS director
Asad Rahmani insists on making the state zero-plastic. “Even if someone says that 90% of plastic can be recycled, it leaves 10%.
The stock will accumulate over time and will be there for hundreds of years in our soil and water. Recovering it and using it for road construction is possible,” he said. “If people are made aware of all the harm plastic causes, they won’t mind going back to glass bottles, which are not as damaging.”
