plastic waste

A grim headline from the Times of India reports that India's Supreme Court has emphasized that the country is a "plastic time bomb" due to the sheer volume of plastic it disposes of on a daily basis, with Delhi alone producing 689.5 tonnes of plastic refuse per day. According to the article's writer, Dhananjay Mahapatra, the amount of plastic discarded daily in India is even more shocking. Piles of plastic dot the landscape in the form of permanent mountains which never biodegrade and build up as the country produces more and more waste. He writes:

In a bid to halt the progression of waste and pollution cluttering the planet, the European Commission has announced the publication of a Green Paper focusing on a "European strategy on plastic waste in the environment", according to a press release from the Commission earlier this month. The paper was announced at the "Zero Waste Conference" held by the European Parliament.

By Karen Chernick, Green Prophet

Colorful plastic bags are both the canvas and the paints in Aviva Sawicki’s artworks.

QUESTION: How do I get rid of the plastic stuff in my life without throwing plastic out?

ANSWER:   That's a tricky problem, and unfortunately there's no perfect solution. We have lots of plastic items in our house from before I stopped buying new plastic. Most of them I have kept and continue to use.  That said, I don't want to eat out of plastic because of the chemicals that can possibly leach.