It's time for the government to wake up! On recieving different cover stories from
everyone - the manufacturers, the consumers, the waste managers; and being in a total
confusion with different facts all over, we drew out a conclusion. It is only by means of
law that these groups can work hand-in-hand for development and environment.
Who takes care of disposal? |
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On interviewing Mr O. P. Ratra from Indian Centre for Plastics in the Environment, and
Mrs Indrani Das from Reliance, we got a pro-plastic response. The leading producers have
all the reasons to defend plastics and its use. When presented with the surevey of
derrogative effects of plastics made by Toxics Link, they became totally offensive and
said they were not the official spokespersons and will not make any comments. They also
said that government has to make stricter laws as a number of foreign companies were
entering India.
The consumers said they cannot do without plastics. they were of the opinion that
alternatives were expensive. They however wanted the government to put a ban on
polybags.All they had to say beyond this was that plastics are a necessity but the MCD and
government should take care of disposal.
After these three days, the GT reporters come up with some suggestions:
1. The manufacturers need to take care of disposal in the same ratio as
production.
2. The government should become more eco-friendly and pull up thier socks.
3. Taxes should be charged on the manufacturer of disposables, which can then be used to
make up th ecost of disposal.
4. Consumers should become more responsible in the way we use plastics.
5. Segregation of waste is something urgently needed to be thought about at the government
level.
6. Ragpickers should be legalised, and given more facilities.
7. People should be made more aware about the health effects of plastics.
- GT reporters including Monal Nangia
The Gobar Times correspondents wanted the views of the
people who actually market plastic, and so we reached the office of Mr. Ratra. He has been
an employee in Reliance and now is an consultant with the company on plastics. After
reaching his tenth floor office, GT got to work immediately. Mr Ratra was the first person
to speak and he gave us a brief history of plastics. Then came our chance. Mr Ratra was a
very knowledgeable person but very slippery too. He told GT about the advantages of
plastics to the finest detail. When we got to recycling, he supported it and said that
after recycling or downcycling, as in the case of plastics, when we can't recycle any
more, it should be incenerated. He refused to accept that the fumes produced after
incineration are even remotely harmful. He completely denied the fact that fumes produced
on burning plastics have been found to be carcinogenic. All throughout the interview he
kept avoiding questions related to the harmful effects of plastics. Even when GT did
manage to get him into a tight spot where he had to answer our questions on health, he got
out very easily by blaming the problemon the public and India's 'backwardness'. The fact
that cows died of choking on plastic was said to be a hoax by him. He denied the facts
that cows even ate plastic bags. In fact, he said, even if cows die, it is because of the
public not disposing 'their' waste properly.
The only thing positive about him was that he supported ragpickers. But here too he
felt that the life of a ragpicker is quite good as they made Rs 150 a day on stuff that
they find in trash heaps.He said he made a movie on ragpickers and they were never
harassed or fleeced by the police or the public. When GT reporters informed him of the
ragpickers they met, he said these are only remote cases and rarely happen.
Plastics have alternatives and Mr Ratra have also agreed to this. When GT discussed
alternatives, he found fault with each of them. He gave the example of wax paper which was
earlier used to wrap bread. This paper had a shorter shelf life than plastic and this was
its only disadvantage. We were all made to realise how 'useless' paper was, during the
entire discussion.
According to him, the waste disposal policies of the government was good and the
government was making progress.
At the end of it all, we simply concluded that Reliance was an empire built on plastic.
When plastic goes, it crumbles.
—Prateek Saraswat
A Down To
Earth Supplement
