Plastic Pollution and Health Impacts

The global plastic production is estimated to be 390.7 million tonnes per year and that of India is 25 million tonnes a year, about 6% of the global plastic consumption (Rafey, A., & Siddiqui, F. Z. (2023). International Journal of Environmental Analytical Chemistry, 103(16), 3971–3987). A global material balance study on plastics points to 57.6% of the total plastics produced in the world to date entering our environment as waste. Only 7.6% of the total plastic waste produced has been recycled, 10.8% incinerated, and 24.6% of plastics are still in use (UNEP, 2021). Per capita generation of plastic waste in some Indian states is 50 g while the Indian average is 8 g per capita per day (CSE. (2020). Plastic waste is India’s and the world’s most formidable environmental challenge today, and the COVID-19 pandemic has made matters worse: CS). In India, an increasing number of citizens are using single-use plastics with very little thought for the environment or health. Release of additive chemicals in plastics during manufacture, due to contamination and recycling, chemicals released during incineration are harmful to the health of workers and their families (Benjaminsen, C. (2024). Researchers surprised at levels of toxicity in standard plastic products). These bioaccumulate, cause cancers and endocrine disruption. Environmental degradation of plastics causes microplastic generation, land and marine pollution (Endocrine Society. (2020, December). Press release, plastics pose threat to human health). Therefore, governments need to recognize that plastic production must be reduced, and single-use plastics must be banned using penalties and incentives for behavioural change. Facilitating the use of reusables is the way forward.