Plastic Free July and its relevance throughout the year
Landfills are representative of our misplaced development priorities.
Photographer: Jonathan Torgovnik/AJWS | Organisation: SWaCH Pune Seva Sahakari Sanstha.
“Plastic Free July is a global movement that helps millions of people be part of the solution to plastic pollution”. The movement was started in 2011 by “Rebecca Prince-Ruiz (the founder of the Plastic Free Foundation) and a small team in local government in Western Australia, and is now one of the most influential environmental campaigns in the world.” This excerpt from the Plastic Free July website shows that globally, people acknowledge the plastic crisis as well as want to be part of the solution. And why not, as the age we live in is being called the plasticene1 and plastic pollution has become all pervasive. Plastic is found on top of the highest mountains2, deepest of trenches in the ocean3, while plastic (microplastic and nano plastic) has been found even inside human placenta4, blood5, lungs6 and testicles7. Scientists have discovered that micro- and nanoplastics exist in every environmental compartment — from freshwater to soil and air — and in thousands of species, including humans8. A 2019 WWF report suggests that we consume an average of 5g or a debit card size of plastic a week. Toxics Link in 2024, found microplastic in all 10 samples of salt and 5 samples of sugar they studied in the Indian market. Similar studies in the past have shown tap water, bottled water and other food and beverages to contain microplastic. Microplastic has become part of our daily food and drinks.