GEM PPT

1. PPT-4
Green Earth Movement
An E-Newsletter for the cause of Environment, Peace, Harmony and Justice
Remember - “you and I can decide the future”
PLASTIC – A BOON OR A
BANE?
PLASTIC is one of the best inventions of the 18th
century. Plastic is light-weight, durable, low- cost,
and has a wide variety of applications ranging
from…

2. …a pen, waste paper
basket, bottles,
shopping bags, kids’
toys, household
utensils, storage items,
electrical & electronic goods, industrial
& agricultural equipments, medical
items, automobile & aircraft parts and
so on. Invention of plastic undoubtedly
has been the one of the greatest
achievements by man.

3. HOWEVER
The PLASTIC THE BEST
INVENTION OF MAN has
become
CURSE for environment
In the modern times. Why?

4. Every year about 300 billion pounds of plastic is
produced in the world and not even 5% of it is
recycled. So where does the remaining 95% goes?
Well most of it finds safe haven in landfills and the
remaining is thrown in the oceans. It's a known fact
that plastic takes almost 100 years to decompose, but
when it's thrown in the water; the action of the sun,
water and temperature breaks it into small pieces
which helps the spreading of plastic even more. This is
very strange but true, in the middle of the Pacific
ocean a circular pattern of water currents have
accumulated enormous amounts of floating garbage.
This huge amount is often referred as the 'Eastern
Pacific Garbage Patch'. It was discovered by Captain
Charles Moore in the early 1990's and is still growing.

5. 1. HUGE POLLUTION PROBLEM
Plastics are used because they are easy and
cheap to make and they can last a long time.
Unfortunately these same useful qualities can
make plastic a huge pollution problem. Because
the plastic is cheap it gets discarded easily and
can do great harm to the environment.

6. 2. POLLUTION DUE TO
BURNING PLASTIC
When plastic is burnt,
the harmful fumes
enter into the atmosphere and
has direct effects upon
someone who breathes it. And so,
NO! we cannot eliminate plastic by
burning it.

7. 3. SOIL FERTILITY IS LOST
Most of the solid wastes,
like paper, plastic
containers, bottles, cans,
and even used cars and
electronic goods are not biodegradable,
which means they do not get broken
down through inorganic or organic
processes. Thus, when they integrate
in the soil, the soil loses its fertility.

8. 4. CHOKING OF DRAINS
CAUSING FLOODS
Urbanization has added
to the plastic pollution,
especially in cities.
Plastic thrown on land can enter into
drainage lines and choke them
resulting into floods, especially in cities
as experienced in Mumbai, many times
in the past.

9. 5. DEATH OF LIVESTOCK
It was claimed in one of
the programmes on TV
channel that eating plastic
bags results in death of 100 cattle per day
in U.P. in India. In stomach of one dead
cow, as much as 35 kg of plastic was
found. Because plastic does not
decompose/digest, and requires high
energy ultra-violet light to break down.

10. 5. POLLUTION OF SEA BEACHES
The amount of plastic waste in our oceans is
steadily increasing. More than 90% of the articles
found on the sea beaches are made up of
plastics. The plastic rubbish found on beaches
near urban areas tend to originate from use on
land like packaging materials.

11. 6. PLASTIC BAGS KILLS
ANIMALS
About 100,000 animals such
as dolphins, turtles, whales,
penguins are killed every
year due to plastic bags. Many animals ingest
plastic bags, mistaking them for food, and
therefore die. And worse, the ingested plastic
bag remains intact even after the death and
decomposition of the animal. Thus, it lies
around in the landscape where another victim
may ingest it.

12. 7. DANGER TO KIDS
Thin plastic bags,
Especially dry cleaning
bags, have the potential
for causing suffocation.
About 25 children in the
United States suffocate each year due
to plastic bags, most under the age of
one. This has led to voluntary warning
labels on
some bags which may pose a hazard to

13. 8. DANGER TO PUBLIC HEALTH
The major chemicals used to make
plastic resins pose serious risks to public
health and safety. Many of the
chemicals used in large volumes to
produce plastics are highly toxic. Some
chemicals, are known to cause cancer in humans; many
tend to be gases and liquid hydrocarbons, which readily
vaporize and pollute the air. Many are flammable and
explosive. Even the plastic resins themselves are
flammable and have
contributed to numerous chemical accidents. The
production of plastic emits substantial amounts of toxic
chemicals to air and water, and cause serious damage

14. SOLUTIONS
WHAT INDIVIDUALS CAN DO?
1. Avoid accepting plastic bags when you
finish shopping. Instead, carry a paper or a
jute bag with you when you go shopping.
2. Avoid disposing of plastic along with organic wastes. Do not
throw waste food in plastic bags or containers. You might just
save a life.
3. Avoid using plastic chairs or tables, you could use eco friendly
items instead.
4. Plastic is made from crude oil. So lesser usage of plastic also
means lesser demand for crude oil products.
5. Keep plastic articles and toys (with small parts) away from the
reach of little children. Always supervise kids when they are
working with such potential plastic articles.
6. Do not dispose plastic which can be recycled. That’s another
means to reduce production of more plastic.

15. WHAT GOVERNMENT SHOULD DO
The more hazardous variant of plastic, the non-recyclable poses a
greater threat to our environment. The trouble arises because we
have no definitive way of disposing this plastic and hence it lives
on in nature forever. A few steps that could be taken to tackle this
problem are:
Governments should ban production of
non-recyclable plastic and also the
manufacture of products that use them.
Non-recyclable plastic can be used for
asphalting roads, as supplementary building
materials, and as supportive structures.
Extensive research must take place in
finding better methods of disposing
non-recyclable plastic.
People must be educated about the benefits of recycling and

16. In conclusion, everyone of us know that
plastic is here to stay. But how we let it stay
is left to us. Let us make better use of what
nature has given us.

17. This educational PowerPoint Presentation (editable) is
prepared by GEM Team (courtesy: internet).
For other similar GEM PowerPoint Presentations on
various environmental issues see next slide.
These PPTs may be downloaded from our website
www.infantjesusjogeshwari.in
The GEM PPTs can be creatively used for various
groups like school/college students, NGOs,
government officials, Church groups, SCC groups,
housing society members and so on.

18. 1. Twenty Simple Tips
2. Solar Energy
3. Junk Food
4. Plastic – a boon or bane?
5. Green Passion
6. Zero Garbage
7. Soft drink – A Health Hazard
8. Waste to energy
9. Rain Water Harvesting
10. Eco-friendly Religions
11. Happy Green Diwali
12. Climate Change
13. The future of Biodiversity
14. Genetically Modified Foods
15. Waste Water Treatment
16. Body, Organ, Tissue Donation
17. Organic Farming
18. Waste to cooking gas
19. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
20. Protect Mangroves
21. Say NO to Bottled water
22. Save Lakes and Ponds
23. Forests are green lungs
24. Coal Mining and Ecology
25. Sin of Food Waste
26. Climate change and Poverty
27. Stop Water Pollution
28. Carbon Footprints
29. Parks and Open Spaces
30. Rising Sea Levels
31. Laudato Si – Pope’s Encyclical
32. Air Pollution
33. Life Style Changes
34. Laudato Si – Fr Gerard
35. Water Pollution
36. Sand Mining
37. Kids Eco Clubs
38. Water Disaster

19. For GEM E-Newsletters visit –
www.infantjesusjogeshwari.in
Go to GEM section
click GEM E-NEWSLETTERS