Dr. Sanjay Joshi

Have bans, rules and waste systems really been enough to tackle plastic waste? The Indian plastics industry began in 1957 with the state-owned Indian Petrochemicals. By 1979, the sector had taken firmer shape. Use of plastics in India became increasingly common over the decades and grew sharply in popularity in the 1990s. Single-use plastic entered the market and soon became a widely sought-after material for households and businesses alike. Plastic consumption had already been growing since...

Plastic pollution is no longer just an environmental issue it is a growing public health concern. Plastics are indispensable, as discussed earlier, yet they severely harm not only cows, bulls, wild animals, and sea creatures but also human health. Plastic pollution poses health risks that start long before plastic becomes waste and persist throughout its entire life cycle. To clarify how plastics endanger human health, we must examine every stage of their life cycle. As we have already learnt...

Dear reader, last week, we saw how microplastics enter the aquatic food chain and eventually reach giants such as whales. This week, let us move a little further through the marine world and understand how plastic pollution is harming other ocean creatures as well, including sea turtles, seabirds and many other marine species. Like many other animals, sea turtles have been around for 100 million years. They have survived periodical mass extinctions and they have survived through the “Golden...