Role of students in the prevention of plastic pollution

Role of students in the prevention of plastic pollution

Plastics affect all of us. Change starts with you and your family. The first step to change something is to know why you need to change. Equipped with the right knowledge, you can start to take small steps to protect yourself, your family and beautiful Tamil Nadu.

You play a very important role and have the power to minimise plastic pollution. You can start today by reflecting on the plastic you use in your everyday life.

Ask yourself, is this plastic safe or harmful plastic? If it is not a harmful plastic type, is it one-time use plastic item? These questions and the science-based knowledge will help you to reduce unnecessary plastic pollution.

1. What can you do to prevent plastic pollution?

·           As a student, you can share your scientific knowledge on plastics and their effects with your parents, relatives and friends to make them aware of plastic pollution.

·           You can help by teaching them how to avoid harmful plastics by searching for the resin codes.

·           You can educate them about the new rules and how important it is to stop one-time use plastics.

2. Practice in your daily life

·           Do not litter the environment by throwing plastic items.

·           Do not use Thermocol (resin code #6 PS) for your school projects.

·           Do not use one-time use or throwaway plastics like plastics bags, tea cups, Thermocol plates and cups, and plastic straws.

·           Do not burn plastics since they release toxic gases that are harmful to our health and contribute to climate change.

·           Burning PVC plastic releases dioxins which are one of the most dangerous chemicals known to humans.

·           Do not eat hot or spicy food items in plastic containers.

·           Segregate your plastic waste and hand this over to the municipal authorities so that it can be recycled.

·           Educate at least one person per day about how to identify the resin codes and avoid unsafe plastics (resin code #3 PVC, #6 PS and #7 ABS/PC).

Let us join together to make our nation pollution free.