Every day humans produce billions of tons of “waste”, it is estimated that on average a person produces about 5 kilograms of waste daily and only 2kg of which is recyclable and the rest 3kg is non-recyclable. But what makes this 3kg a “Non-recyclable” matter? Answer to which is plastic. Plastic is much more than those polythene bags we ask vegetable vendors to give us extra, but plastic is used in around 70% of household items, plastics are used in making medicines bottles, and other “essential” goods and this is what ultimately ends in “Landfills”.
In past, around 30 years, landfills were the only way to dispose of plastics as the making of plastic was considered an easy process but once it’s ready it’s nearly impossible to dispose of it, but this was not a problem in the past as land was easily available and as Industrial revolution was at its peak and hence priority was given to industries and not to nature and this is what current generation has to deal with. And proposing a solution to this problem marks the entry of companies and firms like “Tetra Pack” which belief in the concept of “Saving money is making money”. Tetra Pack has started to treat plastics waste in a very revolutionary way. Tetra Pack has managed to build a system which instead of disposing of plastic “Waste” collects it and makes benches, tables, and road-bricks of the plastic which was a waste for others. Many companies, products of which depends on plastic must learn from tetra pack, for example, Medicine companies should use already in the market used bottles by appropriately sanitizing them and using them, in this way plastic is reused and on top of that cost of medicines reduce as bottles are not bought from third parties instead are reused.
But the question arises what about the waste that ordinary households produce? The answer to this question lies in the concept of “My waste, my responsibility”, it’s not only companies but also the people who have to limit their dependency on plastic, and people should understand that if not controlled now, plastic waste can become an ultimate problem and danger to nature in the near future. To solve the problem, Companies can work with various community households and can educate residents of these households on “Segregation at source”, by educating peoples about segregation of waste it will become easy for the waste managers and waste treaters to treat waste well and will ultimately benefit companies and households in a way beneficial for everyone and also for nature. Segregation of waste can help the households to use recyclable material in various household works, For example, many old containers can be used as pots for plants, plastic bottles can be used as sprayers, etc. Also segregating waste can help such households: set-up manure grounds and biogas plants which can save them money or even can earn them money and can ultimately turn their waste into wealth.
Using waste as a source of energy is not a new concept, but for hundreds of thousands of years, peoples have burnt dry waste, mostly leaves, and woods, to keep themselves warm. Scientists today are working on ways how un-disposable plastic can be used in energy making. Many nuclear scientists believe that un-disposable plastic can be used in Nuclear Power plants in various ways, First being plastic as Non-Nuclear fuel, scientists think that plastic manufacturing can be tweaked in a way that when plastic is discarded by households can be used in Nuclear Reactors as a fuel, though there are many complications with this use and scientists have to take care of everything that can go wrong. But progress with this use of plastic seems to be going in the right way. If this process ever came into existence, can ultimately be a game-changer, as plastic can be used in Nuclear Reactors, and electricity produced from plastic will be comparatively cheaper and accessible to every corner of the world and solve many other problems boosting the economies of countries as a whole!
It seems that for plastic, the future is not being a waste but being a wealthy asset. Learning from companies like Tetra Pack which have strong plastic managing techniques will be beneficial, on top of that ordinary people should understand the extremity of the issue and should accept notions like “My waste, My responsibility”, “Segregation at source”, and should understand their responsibility with the waste in their community with taking particular measures they can successfully use waste in their economic favor. And in the end, It must be the responsibility of every individual to understand the importance of Waste Management whether or not they are directly benefited from it. Because it is not only humans but every living Individual who take benefit from Mother Earth and we should at least save the Earth if we cannot pay it back for what Mother Earth has done for us!