As you know one should talk about the things which are feasible at personal level and not talk about national level :-). Think global. But to achieve it, act local. That is my philosophy and that is why I am writing.
About 80% of our household plastic waste can be recycled if taken care or else it has to be buried under ground along with other organic wastes by the local authorities.
So be sure to exercise some of these points that help you to make this world a better place, with out of this bitter plastic syndrome :-)
Understand that since plastic is non-degradable, it will exist for thousands of years once it goes through it as a normal garbage, and it is our responsibility to reduce this burden on mother earth.
I will start with list of places where you can find lot of plastic waste generated (generation sources), this will help you identifying your control areas to avoid use of plastics.
Schools / Institutions:
Students use plastic files which can be easily avoided with use of paper based files.
The Tiffin boxes must be used and any packed food can be avoided in school since it generates waste. Schools can encourage parents and students by awarding people who are conscious about our environment and act accordingly.
Use of clutch pencils which only uses consumable lids is must in place of plastic pencils or wooden pencils
Super-Markets / Shops:
Although it is banned by law, people tend to use plastic polyethylene bags. Big malls (super-markets) can encourage people to use cloth bags by giving some good discounts or promotion offers as a social responsibility and they will also save some money and increase some sales.
Pan-shops:
These are the major source of plastic waste generation and lakhs of small packets of Ghutka are sold everyday and Indians are very good at throwing them at all possible places.
I have seen them in extreme parts in Jungle when I go for any trek in Maharashatra! It's so sad to see all these things lying in Jungle spoiling the fertility of land. Best way is to ban Ghutka, but I know this won't happen. So better way is to place dust bins near to every pan-tapari and tell people to throw waste in it, so that it can be sent for recirculation. I have done this on one pan-shop near my house and it works well.
Mineral water bottles:
Although the bottles are recyclable, most of the people tend to throw them wherever possible!! Again the great Indians who always expect to follow discipline but not by themselves but only by the others. I should tell that I have seen these water bottles in intricate parts on jungle thrown by our own great Indians. Although there are trekkers like my group FONA who collects these bottles and plastic waster from Jungles and forts and carry them back for recycling. So one should bother to send it for recirculation, don't through it anywhere, instead take it home and give it to Kabadiwala (Indian scrap vendor who collects plastic/metal scrap from your home and pays you) . He can get some money out of it and also send it for recirculation. By this way you also save the same bottles coming over to you again by some fake re-filling plant.
Offices / Company:
Plastic is extensively used for transporting parts from one place to another by using plastic bins. In today's condition, this is unavoidable since plastic bins lasts long and company can save money on that, but the companies should make sure that they send the plastic bins for recycling at end of lifecycle (scrap).
Scrapped computers are a large waste generation from companies. Mostly this is done to upgrade the existing computers. Better than scrapping the old machine they can be distributed to schools in villages, where low capacity computers can be used for years by the students for learning. Of course many companies do that but you can make sure your company also participates in this value addition program.
Printer cartridges - you can refill and reuse them from authorized company outlets
Home:
Shaving blades / carry bags / ball point pen / refills: collect it and give to your rag pickers (scrap collector)
Milk bags: collect milk bags, even collect the bag edge that you cut and sell it to newspaper Kabadiwala, you get money as well as help reducing waste.
How can I identify that whether the plastic is recyclable or not?
1. PET or PETE Bottles or Containers: they are marked with a "1" inside a triangle showing recycle sign on it. (PET=PolyEthylene Terephthalate)
2. HDPE Bottles : they are marked with a "2" inside a triangle. Some examples include shampoo bottles, liquid detergent containers etc. (HDPE=high density polyethylene)
3. PVC: they are marked with a "3" inside a triangle. Most of the time you can see PVC pipes are used. (PVC=polyvinyl chloride)
4. LDPE: they are marked with a "4" inside a triangle. You can see some frozen food bags, trash cans. (LDPE=Low Density Polyethylene)
5. PP: they are marked with a "5" inside a triangle. Used in the automotive and construction industries. Most of the parts of your two wheeler / four wheeler are possibly made from this plastic. Drinking straw is a typical component that uses this material. (PP=Polypropylene)
6. PS: they are marked with a "6" inside a triangle. Used for packing foam, plastic cutlery, protective packaging for electronic goods and toys. (PS=Polystyrene)
7. Other. : If the plastic is marked with "other" or with a "7" then can not be recycled, since these are normally made out of reusing above enlisted plastic (type 1 to 6)
Please visit to know more on less commonly used symbols:
http://www.recyclenow.com/why_recycling_matters/recycling_symbols.html
Recommended readings:
http://www.recycle-more.co.uk/
http://www.recyclenow.com/
Developments in plastics recycling
Recycle plastic waste, give jobs to poor
Plastic Recycling
Recycling symbol - mobius loop
Recycling symbols - detailed information - good to read
Keywords: Plastics, reuse plastics, reduce plastic use, no to plastics, recycle plastic, plastic recycle symbol, recycle symbol resource, identify plastic
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