Say No to Plastic Bags, Save The World – Let’s Go Green

It was one of the biggest promotion sales in town at a very reputed shopping mall. How can one miss, especially when it comes during a long weekend? I roamed through all the floors at leisure. At the end of the day, I was proudly carrying a dozen vibrantly colored plastic shopping bags. On the way back home, at a traffic signal, I happened to see a large hoarding that read “SAY NO TO PLASTIC!! SAVE THE WORLD!!” Reflexively my eyes drifted towards my shopping bags. Strange!! I could, somehow, feel my pride and happiness slowly eroding, giving in for an apprehension. I intended to clarify and let me share what I learnt. 

Why say no to plastic bags? 

Deep researches and definitions apart. In simple words, 

• Plastic bags are known for their durability and are almost imperishable. The incredibly long decomposing process contaminates the available soil and water, finally making the resources unfit for human, animal and plant life.
• Plastic litters discarded sloppily over land and ocean kill oblivious animal life that mistake them for food, thus ensuing a huge bionetwork imbalance.
• Burning of plastic bags releases toxins that tend to accelerate greenhouse effect and thus contributing to global warming.
• The raw material of plastic bags is said to be oil, a most valuable resource that could be used more constructively. 

How is it going to save the world? 

Scrutinizing the above shortcomings, it is obvious that reduction in the usage of plastic will definitely benefit our planet. 

What are the practical alternatives? 

• Chirpy cloth bags and jute bags are entirely eco-friendly. The biggest advantage is that they could be custom-designed, as and how we wish.
• Recycled paper bags prove to be a good substitute over plastic.
• Plastic packages could be replaced with tetra packs and recycled glass packs.
• Biodegradable environment-friendly plastic bags are catching on in the market offlate. 

How long will it take to discard plastic?

Overnight transition is certainly not possible as we are obsessed with plastic usage over the years. But it is always possible to slowly swap plastics to more eco-friendly stuffs. ‘GO GREEN!!’ is the say and let’s work towards it!! With each individual’s effort, the day on which we are going to gift an entirely plastic-free environment to Mother Earth and our future generations is not far at all.   

The next morning, when I stepped out, a superbly self-decorated, trendy jute bag adorned my hands and a big smile adorned my face!! Afterall, transition starts from home, right?