(Image source from: moneycontrol.com)

The entire world has been urging people to avoid the usage of plastic. The pollution, clean-up and the emission cost of the plastic that is produced in 2019 alone are said to be 3.7 trillion USD as per the report from the Wildlife Charity WWF. The organization warned of the economic and environmental burden of the seemingly cheap material. The volumes of fossil-fuel-based plastics have been increasing and they are entering the environment. In their report, WWF said that the production cost of plastic in 2019 is more than the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of India.

Plastic is used badly as the production is quite cheap. The primary plastic producers pay for the virgin plastic but the plastic used in the market is a cheap material. Going with the production and usage, it would get doubled to 7.1 trillion USD by the year 2040. Several factors like the emission of the greenhouse gas, waste management, health impacts and the estimates are calculated. Close to 8.3 billion tonnes of plastic was produced since 1950 and 60 percent of the plastic was tossed into landfills and the natural environment. But the present situation and the usage of plastic are unusual. Every year, more than a million seabirds and more than a lakh marine mammals are dying because of the plastic.

The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) called for an end to the plastic usage by 2030. Berangere Abba, a Minister from France revealed that there would be more plastic in oceans than the fish by 2050 if the world fails to put an end to the plastic usage.

By Siva Kumar