When a clear stream of reasoning awakens the change

Since ban on single-use plastic has its limitations in making a difference to our health and environment, the solution is to choose long-term instead of single-used products 

Here is a quick question. What do we find at the intersection of nature’s ingenuity and people’s indifference? The unfortunate answer is a single-use-and-throw convenience products.

I can list a series of situations which uphold the truth of the above statement.

The tender coconut comes right at the top of the list. This gift from nature comes with an exquisite packaging that delivers all the goodness needed to nourish our bodies and also enrich the soil after its use. Yet, as humans, we insist that we need a plastic straw to draw on the contents. We do this without a care of what happens next and the ensuing harm that we bring on ourselves and our environment.

Then again, our behaviour towards flowers and the manner in which we insist that the only way to show our love to our loved ones is to engulf our beautiful bouquet with a sheet of plastic.

The list can go on. We believe that we should place our trust in a plastic spoon which has travelled across many miles to bring us a false sense of hygiene even while the best hygiene is there in our fingers that can consume our food in the most sustainable manner. Without a care, we thrust balloons on our children, heap them with gifts wrapped in glitzy plastic wrappers and make them believe that this is how we define happiness.

It has been over a month since the ban on single-use plastic. Straws, cutlery, ear buds are now all items that should no longer be a part of our lifestyle. It’s good to see restaurants, airlines and many public events keep the protocol by switching from plastic to paper and wood.

On the other hand, the ban has had little effect on the street vendors who brings us coconut water or the small eatery that works with a slim margin and hence finds it difficult to push back on customers who feel entitled to their free plastic convenience. Single-use plastic is much cheaper than the other alternatives, including paper.