Keviseto Mekro
CD King Higher Secondary School
Wouldn’t it be nice to wake up to a plastic free world, a plastic free India,, a plastic free Kohima. “Stop Using Plastic”!!, “Go Green”!!, “Plastic A Menace” are some very common slogans that are used in almost every environmental campaign or rally. But do we really comprehend these slogans; can we give up plastic and lead plastic free lives? It’s so easy to say “Let’s go green” “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle” but when the time comes to act, it is not an easy thing to do. Plastic now occupies such an indispensible part in our lives that completely banning plastic is impractical.
If we were to shut down plastic production and completely ban plastic, imagine the lakhs of people who would be rendered jobless, the economies that would crash and the inconvenience that we the people would face. But that doesn’t stop me from dreaming about a Plastic Free Kohima and I am glad that we are trying to make that dream a reality. With the recent ban on Single use plastic in Nagaland, we faced an acute shortage of plastic bags, cups, plates and cutlery. But it was also through this ban that many environmental friendly alternatives began to be used. Shops dealing with environmental friendly party products have come up, people have started carrying their own shopping bags, completely biodegradable plates made of bagass have been introduced and plantain leaves are starting to be used as plates in weddings. These are the first steps towards realizing that dream for a plastic free Kohima.
India generates about 25,940 tonnes of plastic a day making it the 15th largest plastic polluter in the world. Nagaland also contributes to this waste. 80% of the waste that washes up on the shores is plastic. India is responsible for 605 of plastics dumped into the oceans every year. The Indus, the Ganga and the Brahmaputra are among the top ten rivers carrying 90% of the plastics into the oceans. Yes, Kohima is small but we are also contributing to this pollution. How long has it been since you saw a stream or river without plastics in Kohima. I dream for a day when all the streams in Kohima run clean again. Every mighty river began with a single drop, a change in Kohima would hence go a long way.
As of 2018, 380 million tones of plastic was generated globally, 40% of this was single use, the figures are frightening indeed. India is one of the fastest growing economy in the world, and higher living standards demand the greater use of plastic. It is estimated that online retail and food delivery apps contribute to about 22,000 tonnes of plastic wastes a month in India. This trend of online shopping and online food delivery services is also fast coming into vogue even in Nagaland. If not checked the consequences will be deadly and disastrous.
I dream for a day when people will carry their own casseroles to the restaurants if they want takeaways. I think of the day when people will start reusing their old things, instead of just blindly throwing away.
Nagaland has 19 Urban areas out of which only Kohima has a scientific waste management facility, but with only a capacity of 50 tonnes per day (TDP). It is inadequate as urban areas in Nagaland like Kohima generate about 342 TDP. But we are the lucky ones, because in rural areas there are no waste disposal sites. My dream for a plastic free Kohima does not only include Kohima but even the other poorer districts, the rural areas and villages. I dream of a day when Kohima will have a state of the art plastic management facility and every village, colony and even the other districts have proper Waste Management systems.
But I also dream for a Kohima where we don’t generate so much waste where people have the sensitivity to reuse, even reduce their use of Plastic. I dream for a Kohima where the people have civic sense. Plastic banks to collect plastic bottles have been introduced in Kohima. Let us have the civic sense not to spit on them, vandalize them and even mix other waste along with the bottles. We should develop respect for even public property. I dream of the day when people start segregating their wastes, separating the plastics from the other wastes. In town we see Blue and Green dustbins for different wastes but we just throw without even bothering about the type of waste into the bins. I hope that people one day will start using them correctly.
We are currently being swept by this K-pop craze, but instead of just focusing on their music, the glitz and glamour, can we also appreciate how clean their cities are, how respectful and loving they are towards their public property and how they try to lead environmentally friendlier lives. Take a look at Kohima, plastic is everywhere. When we go for picnics to any popular spot, they are littered with Plastics. Dustbins are there, yet we don’t bother. What is wrong with us? I dream of a day when the people of Kohima bring back their wastes: the day when they start carrying reusable plates and cups.
If we just go into the Internet and type Plastic Pollution, we are swept with a plethora of results; beaches littered with Plastics, rivers and streams choked with plastic, towering heaps of plastics. This is the reality of the world we live in. It is the time to wake up. Let us take inspiration from people like Afroz Shah, a Mumbai based lawyer who cleaned the Versova beach. He and his volunteers removed 20000 tonnes of Plastic from the beach. Let us find strength from people like Savern Suzuki and Greta Thunberg. These people are proof that anyone can make a difference in the world.
I dream of a Kohima where we think twice before throwing away our plastic, where it is more of “we” and less of ‘I’. Let us use less plastic not because we will be penalized but let us adopt it as a way of life.
I dream of a Kohima where we have the will and commitment to follow and adhere to laws and acts passed to reduce plastic use. I dream of a day when people in Kohima celebrate Environment and Earth Days not just as a one day event, but incorporate the values that these days seek to spread into our daily lives. Let our actions speak, not words.
Let us stop looking to the world for answers to a plastic free Earth. Let Kohima be the answer. Come, let us make this dream a reality together, this dream for a Plastic Free Kohima. There will be some inconvenience along the way but life was possible before plastic and life is still possible after plastic. Let this change, this dream for a Plastic Free Kohima start with you. When you go for your grocery shopping today don’t forget to carry a cloth bag!!.
(This write up was the winner of the “Plastic Free India” Essay Competition under Swacchata Hi Seva campaign organized by Kohima Municipal Council for Higher Secondary Schools in Kohima)
