For the past few decades, plastic has been an integral part of our lifestyle, from furniture to polybags. The use is not limited till here, but plastic is also used in making equipment, vehicle parts, and much more. However, plastics are likely to harm and cause destruction, the use is limited as it has caused severe harm to the undersea biodiversity. According to estimates, people around the world throw away almost four million tons of garbage every day, of which 12.8% is plastic, contaminating land, air, and water. The studies reveal that around 12.7 million tonnes of plastic waste is washed into the ocean every year.

How plastic is a threat to marine life?
Thousands of turtles, sea birds, fishes, and other marine animals are killed every year. If the plastic pollution continues to grow, till 2050 there will be more plastic than fish beneath the water.

The phrase ‘Machli Jal ki Rani Hai’ will fade away if the plastic pollution continues resulting in the extinction of marine life. If plastic gets ingested by fishes, the toxins of plastic are entered into the food chain. Even if the fish don’t die after consuming plastic their presence on our plate is a sign of danger resulting in cancers, immune system problems, and many more health issues.
We love animals, that doesn’t mean just land animals! California, the first state to pass a statewide ban on plastic straws. In 2019, Assembly Bill 1884 was enacted by former California Gov. Jerry Brown; it prohibits sit-down eateries from automatically providing customers with plastic straws and can only be given upon request. Banning straws alone will not save our oceans as plastic straws consist of a very small percentage but at least that initiative was taken and is appreciable. Like every single drop can fill up the ocean, likewise, every small effort can bring a difference.

Face masks and safety equipment polluting seas!
“We’ve seen how glove and face mask litter in the ocean has increased considerably. Please, dispose of these items properly if you want the oceans to stay clean,” said Carmen Soto Barrera, a professional fisher in Spain’s Canary Islands, in a social media plea in late May. In the US, Maria Algarra in Miami noticed a growing number of gloves lining the street of her community. In a five-block walk around her house, she collected 52 gloves. To raise awareness about the problem, she created the #TheGloveChallenge on Instagram. Hundreds of people, from all corners of the globe, posted more than 1,000 snapshots of discarded gloves on the streets. https://www.aa.com.tr/en/environment/face-masks-latex-gloves-begin-to-trickle-into-seas/18682
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Throwing masks in the streets, the train water will make these flow towards the river. Again this issue will affect marine life. Here as nature is healing itself after lockdown, we humans are still ruining everything just by being at residence. Though there have been no studies on what a PPE kit can harm to the marine.

India pledges to win against plastic pollution by 2020!
https://www.thebetterindia.com/144223/news-india-pledge-beat-plastic-pollution-2020-5-steps-fast-tracking-process/
Clean up drives across various public places, and many such initiatives taken by our government.

1. Offices in Kerala switched to steel utensils reducing the use of plastics.
2. Fishermen not just find fish but remove stuck plastics in nets.
3. Sikkim banned packed drinking water in 2016.
4. Using plastics for road surfacing, by Professor Rajagopalan Vasudevan.
5. Recent proposal to introduce plastic currency to upcycling plastic waste by the
   government.

RESPONSIBLE CITIZENS OF A RESPONSIBLE NATION!