Workshop on Plastics

The objective of the workshop was to realize the amount of plastics in use, the issues in the current life chain of plastics, the need for action as well as the actions that one could take as an individual and finally how a teacher could take all of this understanding to students.

Know your plastics

Plastics in our life

We started the first session with a discussion on plastics. Plastics are cheap, reliable, flexible and not easily breakable material. We came up with an incredibly long list of plastic materials that we use in our daily life such as: tiffin boxes, milk packets, mobiles, fancy jewelry, slippers, water pipes and tanks, banners, bikes and cars etc. The list was quiet alarming!

Knowing the Plastics we use

There are various chemical compositions of plastics for example- Polyethylene, Polystyrene, polythene, etc.  The codes used to denote the type of plastics help in segregating plastics at the time of recycling.

Issues of plastic

We discussed the ‘Life cycle of a plastic bottle’ through a video by the same name:   (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=erGnf7ws20E).

Here we saw how plastic was first made and how it evolved to its present form. Also how its uses have expanded to infiltrate into every aspect of our lives. Finally we saw how plastics contribute to the garbage and how they are treated.

We read a portion of the book ‘Negizhi’ on the brief history of plastics and also the chapter ‘Negizhyin kedukal’ which discussed the harmful effects of plastic. We also saw some videos to understand the intensity of wastes and issues in waste management –

• MAN - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WfGMYdalClU
• WALL-E Intro - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nLx_7wEmwms&t=38s
• WALL∙E’s “Day At Work” - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHH3iSeDBLo&t=4s
• A video on 'What really happens to the plastic you throw away' (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_6xlNyWPpB8) illustrated the problems caused by plastic disposal.  

‘Plastic Ocean’: A video on plastics in the ocean (Plastic ocean- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ju_2NuK5O-E).  shows Sheawater, one of the seabirds, in Lord Howe Island in Australia unknowingly ingesting plastics, mistaking it for food and then getting affected and dying. 234 pieces of plastic were found inside the bird’s stomach.   

Invisible plastics – Microplastics (<5 microns): Primary micro plastics are created for use in the cosmetics industry as defoliants to remove the dead cells from our face, body, etc. Secondary micro plastics are formed when plastic materials break down. Both of them however can easily enter water sources and even into our food. In animals, micro plastics can bio-accumulate i.e. stay in one animal throughout its life time or bio-magnify i.e., increase in concentration inside the organisms as it moves from one to other in the food chain.

Misconceptions around plastics: Some materials that we think to be alternatives to plastic are actually plastic. For example, cloth bags given in marriages and supermarkets are actually polypropylene non-woven fabric which is of lower micron value. Wet tissue, sanitary napkins and diapers are other such examples of plastic.

Workshop in progress (Left: Villianur ERC, Right: Nonakuppam ERC)

Larger Politics of Plastics

The chapter ‘Negizhiyum Arasum’ from the book ‘Negizhi’ was about the governments’ stance on plastics and the politics of plastic waste management. There are good comprehensive laws in the country on waste management like Plastic Waste Management Rules 2016, e-waste (Management) Rules 2016, Solid Waste Management Rules 2016, etc. However sometimes there is a lack of clarity while implementing these laws. An example discussed from the book was 'when the government was planning to ban plastic packaging, the same government decided to fight the issue of mustard oil adulteration by mandating the sale of mustard oil in plastic packages'. There are such contradictory actions making the issue further complex. Hence there is a need to frame holistic action plan.

To understand how the politics around plastic plays internationally, an article on plastic waste imports in the magazine Down to earth (http://www.downtoearth.org.in/news/with-china-banning-import-of-plastic-...) showed how the problem of plastic management in developing countries like India was aggravated when they imported (legally or illegally) plastic waste from developed countries either for use as raw materials in factories or for recycling to produce cheaper quality clothes, toys and other materials.

Possible initiatives at schools

There are some simple activities which could be tried in schools

• Waste timeline – Degradable wastes and plastics are picked from the campus, buried in separate pits and opened after 3 months. This helps realize the relative time taken for decomposition of plastics.
• Trash art – Plastic wastes are picked within the school campus and hung on a large stick erected as a tree. This is to realize the amount of plastics we use daily and how ugly our earth would look if we continue our current plastic usage trend.

Waste timeline activity in GHS Kalmandapam                  

Teacher reflection: