PLASTIC - BOON OR BANE

Boon because:

• Plastic has replaced metals and glass as the primary material used.
• They provide good insulation for the wiring and are durable in extreme weather conditions.
• They provide as a good non-reactive medium as water pipes.
• They are light weight and colourful.
• Safe for children when they are food grade plastics. Ordinary plastics cause health hazards to humans when eaten in them.
• Handy as disposable bags, carry bags, wrapping paper, etc.

Bane because:

• Non biodegradable.
• Obstruct underground water percolation.
• Microbes cannot destroy them.
• Produce harmful gases when burnt.
• Plastic bags thrown into the open drains and sewers clog them and cause stagnation of water, which in turn poses health hazards
• Disposable syringes, drip bottles, blood and urine bags and other medical accessories when disposed off in an irresponsible manner, cause a lot of serious health problems.
• Animals sometimes feed on plastics and die painfully as plastic chokes their digestive and respiratory tracts.

What we can do:

• Avoid using plastic bags for shopping.
• Avoid disposing plastic bags with organic wastes.
• Avoid using plastic chairs and tables.
• Plastic is made of crude oil. So lesser usage of plastic saves the crude oil.