“Plastic is not fantastic”

Speech by: Divya Prabtani (7A) Anant School of Excellence

“A beautiful blue marble” — that is how planet Earth was described when
for the first time, viewed it from outer space.
So far, ours is the only planet known to contain water in liquid form. It is this
water which supports life on earth. And, it is the vast oceans that lend our
planet the blue colour when viewed from outer space. But, did you know that
this beautiful watery world — the oceans — is being choked by plastic from
dumps, drains and rivers?
Scientists have calculated that about 1,00,000 marine creatures die every
year as they get entangled in plastic. Some marine animals like turtles
consume it, mistaking it to be their food — the jelly fish. Even marine birds
end up as victims to this menace.
On land too, plastic items spill over from landfills and choke drains. It takes
1,000 years for the plastic carry bags we use to break up. And, most of them
have been used for just a few minutes — from the shop to the house.
What happens to these carry bags and bottles which cannot be recycled once
they are used? They remain in our environment for another 1000 years,
polluting habitats and killing wildlife that mistakenly consume them. Not a
cosy picture at all.

Now Let’s Look back

There was a time when plastic shopping bags, drinking water in plastic
bottles, plastic cups and plates and other items were unheard of. Your
grandparents will tell you that they always carried a cloth bag when they went
shopping and took with them bottles filled with water. Shopkeepers packed
your stuff in paper bags.
It’s High Time to go back to old days.

Let’s Go Green
-Make paper bags with messages to avoid plastic, and distribute them to the
neighbourhood shops.
-Return the plastic bags in which your door-step deliveries come.
-Line your garbage bins with newspaper instead of ‘garbage bags’.
-Always carry a cloth bag for shopping
Our Small initiative can save Planet Earth. Let’s join hands to save our
future.