It was in the year 1972 that the United Nations General Assembly designated the 5th of June as World Environment Day and the first celebration took place in 1973 with the slogan “Only One Earth”. Since then, every year on the 5th of June, this day is celebrated by organizing various events to raise awareness about the protection of the environment. The major international event shall be held in Cote d’Ivoire, situated in West Africa, with support from the Netherlands. This year the theme of the event is “Solution to Plastic Pollution” under the campaign slogan “Beat Plastic Pollution”. This of course is an occasion to raise awareness to the extent possible as a part of our society and join millions in their cause of protecting the environment.
Plastic pollution as we know is very common in every part of the globe, which is badly impacting our environment, ecology and health. The figures are astonishing as around five trillion poly bags are used every year across the world and around one million plastic bottles are purchased every minute around the globe. Half of the plastic produced is designed for single use and throw, contributing to plastic pollution the most. Based on the trends, the global production of primary plastic is estimated to be around 1100 million tonnes by 2050. Mishandling such a huge quantity of plastic will surely have very serious environmental, social, economic and health consequences. Being man-made polymers, their degradation is difficult and as a result plastic products fragment and remain in our environment for decades together. Even burning is not a solution as it releases a variety of toxins like polychlorinated dibenzodioxins and dibenzofurans into the atmosphere that has the potential to harm human health and the environment. In agriculture also, we see an unprecedented increase in the use of plastic owing to its ease of manufacturing, transportation, physical properties and cheaper rates. It is extensively used for greenhouses, mulching, irrigation tubes and drip lines, silage films, bottles for pesticides and fertilizers, bags and so on. The use of plastic in agriculture has helped in increasing yields and input efficiency but at the same time its miss management may lead to serious issues in crop production, human health and the ecosystem.
According to environmentalists, there are two main channels through which plastic can enter the agri-ecosystem a) leakage from non-agriculture sources and b) leakage from agricultural activities. According to an FAO report, agriculture value chains used 12.5 million tonnes of plastic products in plant and animal products and 37.3 million tonnes in food packing in the year 2019. This does not include the data for usage in storage, processing and distribution, as per the report. According to the report, only a small fraction of the agricultural plastic are collected and recycled and the accumulation of residues of plastic mulches in surface soils has resulted in a reduction in yields. In our area, we also see plastic pollution in apple orchards where plastic containers and bags are thrown in the orchards or in the water streams which have dual risks. One is the plastic itself and the other is the pesticide adhered to the container. This indicates that the benefits of plastic in agriculture may get ruined if it is not handled properly.
Another issue is the micro-plastic derived from agricultural plastic products, which have the potential to adversely affect human health. According to the FOA document “Assessment of agricultural plastics and their sustainability, A call for action” there is scientific evidence that micro-plastics are vectors for the long-range dispersal of pathogens and toxic chemicals in oceans and some plastic resins may also contain additives like phthalates and bisphenols, which are toxic to human beings. According to the researchers, these toxins can disrupt neuro-development, endocrine, and reproductive functions. In addition to this, the report says that the impact of micro-plastic has been traced at the cellular level affecting not only the individual organism but also the entire ecosystems. Scientific evidence confirm the presence of microplastics in human faeces and mother to foetus transmission of nano plastics is reported in case of rats. Research indicates that microplastics affect soil properties, including density, aggregation and water availability. Studies also show that residues of agricultural mulch film left in soil may increase topsoil salt concentrations, reduce seed germination and impair root growth. Similarly, the use of high levels of plastics (>240 kg ha-1) has been reported to reduce yields of a range of crops between 11 percent to 25 percent. In view of these, it is urgent that plastic pollution is recognized as a threat to sustainability at the grassroots level and steps need to be taken for addressing the issue in a holistic manner covering the life cycle of plastic products (manufacturing, transportation, storage, use and management after end of life) and circularity.
There is an urgent need to look for alternatives and FAO suggests a 6R model i.e., Refuse, Redesign, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle and Recover. Environmentalists and all parties involved in environmental research must intensify their research efforts to quantify the fate of plastic used in their area. It is essential to know what quantity of plastic is used, what is the composition of the end product, how it is used in day-to-day life, and what happens to it throughout the supply chain and at the end of its life. Comparing the suitability in terms of advantages and disadvantages of currently used and proposed alternatives under specific applications in agriculture from the sowing of crops to marketing and post-discarding of material in the environment also can be an area of investigation for agriculture scientists and environmentalists. Public awareness, I believe is very crucial in limiting the scale of the damage plastic pollution is causing at present and the damage projected in the future. Let us all join hands in this noble cause of saving our environment and try to find the solutions to the menace at all levels from global to local community levels. It is good to see government agencies and local communities of Jammu & Kashmir intensifying their efforts towards Swachhta and the recent water body cleaning festival at Panzath is a prime example of a community approach to the protection of the local environment. The only request to Panzath locality is to avoid overfishing so that the fish captured is replaced sufficiently for the future.
The author is Chief Scientist (Agronomy) at MRCFC, SKUAST-Kashmir. He can be reached at dr***************@***il.com