Often goes unnoticed, yet one of the biggest threats to the environment is plastic trash that gets collected in lakes, rivers, ocean and environment, causing dire threat to flora and fauna. Worldโs plastic usage has increased with urbanization, consumer needs and production. It is noteworthy that single-use plastic is the biggest threat to the environment, as people are used to throw away the plastic trash without using proper disposal methods.
๐๐๐ฏ๐ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐๐ฏ๐๐ซ ๐ง๐จ๐ญ๐ข๐๐๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ฆ๐๐ ๐ง๐ข๐ญ๐ฎ๐๐ ๐จ๐ ๐ฉ๐ฅ๐๐ฌ๐ญ๐ข๐ ๐ฉ๐จ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฎ๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง? ๐๐๐ซ๐ ๐๐ซ๐ ๐ฌ๐จ๐ฆ๐ ๐ฌ๐ญ๐๐ญ๐ฌ.
It is reported that about 8.3 billion tons of plastics have been produced since 1950 out of only 9% have been recycled. 12% have been burned and the remaining 79% have ended up in the environment. Up to 12.7 million tons of plastic enter the ocean every year and plastic waste equivalent to a truckload enter the ocean every minute. Imagine the effect of plastic on marine species!
๐๐ฆ๐ฉ๐๐๐ญ ๐จ๐ ๐ฉ๐ฅ๐๐ฌ๐ญ๐ข๐ ๐ญ๐ซ๐๐ฌ๐ก ๐จ๐ง ๐๐ง๐ข๐ฆ๐๐ฅ๐ฌ
We are living in an era where ocean has become the main dumping ground for plastic trash. Plastics collected in the ocean directly impacts the life below water. It is a pathetic scenario with all marine species who have become the ultimate victims of plastic pollution. Not only marine species, other animals such as birds and most of the animals living on the land are also affected by this wide spread issue.
๐๐ฆ๐ฉ๐๐๐ญ ๐จ๐ง ๐ง๐๐ญ๐ฎ๐ซ๐๐ฅ ๐๐๐จ๐ฌ๐ฒ๐ฌ๐ญ๐๐ฆ๐ฌ
We know that plastic waste takes a much longer time to decompose than other materials, further disrupting the attempts made at environment conservation. Plastic thrown away to earth causes damage to soil, underground water resources, animals and also derails plant growth. Besides that, plastic trash pollutes those untouched natural resources and habitats. For example, the most beautiful places of the earth when explored by human beings, often get contaminated due to plastic trash, which is part of the irresponsible behavior of human beings.
๐๐ง๐๐ซ๐๐๐ฌ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ง๐๐๐ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ฆ๐ข๐ง๐ข๐ฆ๐ข๐ณ๐ ๐ฉ๐ฅ๐๐ฌ๐ญ๐ข๐ ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐๐ ๐
There is an urgent need to minimize plastic pollution at a time when natural disasters are abundant around the world. The visible outcomes of plastic pollution are directly or indirectly the results of human actions. The need to minimize single-use plastics is a much talked of topic even though there has not been a feasible solution so far. Plastic pollution is largely apparent in most of the developing countries where policies and regulations are not in favor of minimizing plastic usage. But of late, many countries have resorted to ban plastic products to some extent. Unfortunately, it will not be the end for plastic dumping issue when it comes to developing countries with the growing economic challenges.
๐๐ฎ๐๐ฅ๐ข๐ ๐๐๐ฅ๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐ฌ ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐จ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ง๐ข๐๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐ฌ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ฉ๐ฅ๐๐ฒ ๐ ๐ซ๐จ๐ฅ๐
As a sector actively involved in communications, Public Relations services in Sri Lanka can play a vital role in creating much needed awareness among the public. More than that, it is a portal to voice out sustainability and corporate responsibility. Today, we see many corporates carrying out their sustainability campaigns with the help of Public Relations. Since communication is a powerful tool which can be used to make a change happen, it is in the capacity of PR to get involved in minimizing plastic pollution, given the potential to collaborate with stakeholders, influencers and volunteers.
๐๐ง๐๐ข๐ฏ๐ข๐๐ฎ๐๐ฅ ๐ซ๐๐ฌ๐ฉ๐จ๐ง๐ฌ๐ข๐๐ข๐ฅ๐ข๐ญ๐ฒ ๐ข๐ฌ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ค๐๐ฒ
While the authorities can only ban plastic usage up to a certain extent, until there comes the potential for a plastic free society, it is up to each of us to make sure that we minimize plastic usage and practice responsible disposal of plastic trash, which is the most feasible solution at hand for the moment. If individuals cannot be responsible for plastic disposal, how can we think of a plastic-free future? So letโs make sure that we do not contribute to the plastic pollution and intensify the current hazardous situation.
