Plastic: A threat to environmental sustainability and human well-being

Technically sophisticated, cheap, and lightweight, plastic is one of the world’s most-used materials. Roland Barthes, a French intellectual in his 1957 book Mythologies quotes about plastics: “So, more than a substance, plastic is the very idea of its infinite.”
He also made the prophecy, “The hierarchy of substances is abolished, and a single one replaces them all – the whole world can be plasticized and even life itself since, we are told, they are beginning to make plastic aortas.”
The world has changed dramatically in the past century. The amount of plastic use has grown exponentially. The current problem with plastic is not how it is used, which is fairly safe, but rather how products made from it are managed at the end of their useful lives.

Plastic consumption in Kashmir
Due to their low cost, versatility, durability, and high strength-to-weight ratio, plastics have become an integral and cardinal part of the global economy. Every year, between 500 billion and 1 trillion plastic bags are used around the world. Every minute, almost a million plastic bags are used! In India, over the last 30 years, the amount of plastic used has steadily increased, reaching over 300 million metric tonnes in 2017. The Plastics Processing Industry has significantly grown at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 10 % in volume terms from 8.3 MMTPA in FY-10 to 13.4 Million Metric Tonne Per Annum (MMTPA) in FY-15. As per Central Pollution Control Board, India’s plastic consumption has risen from 61,000 tons in 1996 to 85,000 tons in 2007 to 1, 78, 00,000 tons in 2017. According to Plastic Association Membership in India (AIPMA), Plast India, and TATA strategic analysis, India’s plastic consumption is a tenth of the US.
Reports suggest that human plastic consumption is expected to triple by 2025. This clearly indicates that only recycling can offer a viable and domestic option to meet the country’s growing material demand.
Plastic bags have made significant inroads into rural Kashmir, like the rest of India. The growing population directly adds to the strain on local resources, putting additional strain on the environment. Changes in consumption patterns are also having a significant impact on the environment. One of the major reasons for the Union Territory’s widespread use of plastic bags is its thriving retail sector (supermarkets, grocery stores, and weekly haats). The UT is dealing with not only agricultural and industrial waste but also household hazardous and non-hazardous waste, as a result of rising population and consumerism. Jammu and Kashmir’s poor waste management system has exacerbated the problem of plastic waste disposal.

Failure of State action in the reduction of plastic waste
The use of plastic bags is prohibited by law in Jammu and Kashmir. The erstwhile state passed the Non-Biodegradable Material (Management, Handling, and Disposal) Act in 2007, which was used several times to impose a partial ban on plastic carry bags by prohibiting the use of bags thinner than 50 microns. Jammu and Kashmir banned the manufacture, stocking, distribution, sale, and use of polythene bags, regardless of thickness, in January 2018. Finally, the then state government banned single-use plastic items such as disposable plates, cups, bowls, tumblers, spoons, forks, and knives in March 2019.
According to the monthly progress report for January 2021, treatments/measures taken to reduce or control plastic waste include:
a) The Anti-Polythene Squad seizes illicit polythene and bans SUP on a regular basis;
b) The seized polythene is used to overlay roadways;
c) Using seized polythene alongside traditional fuels in cement kilns.
Despite the legislation, the amount of plastic waste generated is too great to be treated in comparison to the recycling infrastructure available in most cities. Plastic waste generation in J&K (2018-19) is depicted in Table 1.
Table 1: Plastic waste generation in the state (2018-19)

Source: Action plan on Plastic Waste Management (Jammu and Kashmir) accessed through http://diragrijmu.nic.in/Plastic%20Waste%20Management%20reduced.pdf
According to Annual Report 2019-20 on Implementation of Plastic Waste Management Rules, Jammu and Kashmir ranks eighth among all the states and union territories in India in terms of plastic waste per capita generation. The estimated plastic waste generation in UT has substantially increased from 34367.37 T/annum (2018-19) to 74826.33 T/annum. According to the Jammu and Kashmir monthly progress report for January 2021, the monthly average of plastic waste generation in J&K is 6200 MT (app). Figure 1 depicts the per capita waste generation by the state for the fiscal year 2019-20.
Figure 1: State/UT-wise plastic waste generation (per capita for 2019-20)

Source: Annual report 2019-20 accessed through https://cpcb.nic.in/uploads/plasticwaste/Annual_Report_2019-20_PWM.pdf
There were 72 unregistered units in the state as per the annual report 2018-19. Assam, Bihar, Jammu & Kashmir, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Puducherry, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, and Uttar Pradesh have 1080 unregistered plastic manufacturing/recycling units. Figure 2 shows the state/UT-wise unregistered units.
Figure 2: State/UT-wise unregistered units

Source: Annual Report 2018-19 accessed through https://cpcb.nic.in/uploads/plasticwaste/Annual_Report_2018-19_PWM.pdf
It is quite unfortunate to see that recycling rates in India are far below the international standards, with 27 percent for packaging paper, 60 percent for plastics, and 20-25 percent for metals. The average recycling rate in Scandinavian countries has reached 90%. As per the estimates by Central Pollution Control Board (for 2017-18) 26,000 tons per day of plastic waste is generated in India. Out of which only 15,600-ton plastic waste is recycled which means 9,400 tons per day of waste is uncollected, littered, and unprocessed.

A way forward:
Environmentally sensitive areas, such as Kashmir, require immediate solutions to the plastic waste problem. Finding alternatives to plastic products has become more important than ever before in the fight against climate change. Plastic is a high-carbon petroleum product whose production and transportation require numerous energy inputs, resulting in massive greenhouse gas emissions.
According to research, landfilling is the most efficient method of disposal if done correctly. Waste should be collected three times per week and disposed of in a scientific manner. Also, a detailed feasibility study on alternatives should be conducted, with the best types designated for mass production and distribution.
Plastic bags continue to enter the Union Territory from states where there is no ban. Stricter monitoring of inter-state movement will be extremely effective in reducing usage. The region’s tourism industry depends on the stunning landscape of lakes and mountain resorts, which is now under constant threat from poor waste management practices. Plastic waste is a major hazard to marine ecosystems. Every year, eight million tonnes of plastic debris reach the ocean. The total amount of plastic in the ocean is 150 million tonnes. In 2014, there was 1kg of plastic in the ocean for every 5 kg of fish, and it is estimated that by 2050, there will be more plastic than fish. Untreated wastewater, according to a scholar, has ruined the Dal lake more than anything else. According to numerous studies, 1,200 houseboats alone discharge over 9,000 metric tonnes of garbage into the lake each year. The lake receives 18.2 tonnes of phosphorus and 25 tonnes of inorganic nitrogen fertilizers from 15 major drains. Every year, roughly 80,000 tonnes of silt are deposited in the lake, in addition to nitrates and phosphates. Due to increased turbidity, the color of the lake’s water has changed from bluish-green to hazel, reducing the lake’s visual attractiveness and resulting in fewer tourist visits. The water is unsafe to drink, and aquatic life is endangered due to dissolved oxygen depletion.
Table 2: Amount of macroplastic recorded at the peripheries of the Dal Lake (in terms of percentage by weight)

Source: Action plan on Plastic Waste Management (Jammu and Kashmir) accessed through http://diragrijmu.nic.in/Plastic%20Waste%20Management%20reduced.pdf
Plastic bags and containers have steadily replaced the traditional ‘Kranjul’ wicker baskets used by Kashmiri women to transport vegetables. Plastic’s spread over the years has thrown a gauntlet to Kashmir’s once-thriving wicker handicrafts industry. Plastics can be phased out by promoting local traditional products, which can help restore the Kashmir landscape while also providing additional livelihood options in the state. At a time when the fate of environmental sustainability is at crossroads, the government needs to incentivize the people who make cloth bags and wicker baskets. In Jammu and Kashmir – where thousands of weavers, potters, and women skilled in sewing cloth bags exist in every district – accessibility to alternatives is not that difficult.

Conclusion
The environmental externality of solid waste related to plastic bag consumption is a classic tragedy of commons. Individual consumers gain from the use of plastic bags because they are convenient, but society as a whole bears the collective cost of their disposal. The environmental degradation experienced across Kashmir today underlines the need for a paradigm shift from the depletive ‘produce-consume-dispose’ led linear economy to a circular economy led by ‘reduce-recover-reuse-recycle-redesign-remanufacture’.

References:

1. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/281768525_Analysis_and_Effect_of_Plastic_and_Biomedical_waste_on_Rajouri_Town_Jammu_and_Kashmir_India

2. https://vikalpsangam.org/article/plastic-ban-in-jk-opens-door-for-revival-of-wicker-crafts/

3. https://swachhindia.ndtv.com/petting-the-plastic-monster-srinagars-municipal-body-plans-to-use-a-chunk-of-the-citys-plastic-waste-and-turn-it-into-fuel-15403/

4. https://cpcb.nic.in/uploads/plasticwaste/Annual_Report_2019-20_PWM.pdf

5. https://cpcb.nic.in/uploads/plasticwaste/Annual_Report_2018-19_PWM.pdf

6. https://nmcg.nic.in/writereaddata/fileupload/ngtmpr/2_Jammu&Kashmir%20MPR%20Jan%202021.pdf

7. https://greaterjammu.com/iconic-dal-lake-is-battling-with-plastic-pollution/

8. http://diragrijmu.nic.in/Plastic%20Waste%20Management%20reduced.pdf

9. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/351229048_Preliminary_studies_on_the_microplastic_pollution_in_Dal_lake_Kashmir_first_report