This year (2018) India was the host country for official celebrations of WED and escalating the issue of Plastic Pollution for creating required awareness was a matter of utmost importance. This presentation was designed keeping the same in mind. It raised three basic questions, 1) What is the Problem (Problem Definition)? 2) What are the adverse effects of Plastic Pollution? 3) What can we do to stop it? While answering these questions during the flow of the presentation, the sad reality of Great Pacific Garbage Patch was also discussed. At the final stage, solutions were proposed following 4R concept, namely, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle and Rebuy. The presentation concluded with a small video trailer titled “Albatross” (By Chris Jordan) which exhibited the tragic truth of Midway Island, one the most heart-breaking consequences of plastic pollution.

1. Plastic Pollution:
A menace in the
making
By,
Aniruddha Guha
Assistant Professor
Mechanical Engineering Department
Asansol Engineering College

2.  Let’s find out the answers together…
What is the problem?
What are the adverse effects of plastic
pollution?
What can we do to stop it?
Questions of the day!

3. Q1:What is the problem?
As the world’s population continues to grow, so does the amount of
garbage that people produce. On-the-go lifestyles require easily
disposable products, such as soda cans or bottles of water, but the
accumulation of these products has led to increasing amounts of plastic
pollution around the world.
Put simply, plastic pollution is when plastic has gathered in an area and
has begun to negatively impact the natural environment and create
problems for plants, wildlife, marine life and even human population.
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4. “Some 18 billion pounds of
plastic
waste flows into the oceans
every year from coastal
regions.”
“That’s the equivalent of
five grocery bags of plastic trash
sitting on every foot of coastline
around the world.”
“40 percent of plastic
produced is packaging,
used just once and then
discarded”
“About 8 percent of the
world’s oil production is
used to make plastic
and power the
manufacturing of it.
That figure is projected
to rise to 20 percent by
2050.”

5. The Great Pacific Garbage Patch!
The Great Pacific
Garbage Patch, also
described as the Pacific
Trash Vortex, is an island
of plastic 6 times the size
of Vietnam in Central
North Pacific Ocean.
The patch extends over
an indeterminate area,
with estimates ranging
very widely depending on
the degree of plastic
concentration used to
define the affected area.
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6. Land sources
Tires
and
tubes
Bottles
Carry
bags
Sea sources
Fishing
Equipment
Oil
platforms Ships
Garbage
Patch
How it works?
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8. Q2:What are the adverse effects of Plastic Pollution?
 It Upsets the Food Chain
Because it comes in sizes large
and small, polluting plastics even
affect the world’s tiniest
organisms. When these
organisms become poisoned due
to plastic ingestion, this causes
problems for the larger animals
that depend on them for food.
This can cause a whole slew of
problems, each step further
along the food chain. Plus, it
means that plastic are present in
the fish that many people eat
everyday.
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9. Q2:What are the adverse effects of Plastic Pollution?
 Groundwater Pollution
Water Conservation is already a
concern in places ranging from
California to parts of India, but
the world’s water is in great
danger because of leaking
plastics and waste. If you’ve ever
seen a garbage dump, imagine
what happens every time it rains
– then imagine that being in your
drinking water. Groundwater and
reservoirs are susceptible to
leaking environmental toxins.
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10. Q2:What are the adverse effects of Plastic Pollution?
 Land Pollution
When plastic is dumped in
landfills, it interacts with water
and form hazardous chemicals.
When these chemicals seep
underground, they degrade the
water quality. Wind carries and
deposits plastic from one place
to another, increasing the land
litter. It can also get stuck on
poles, traffic lights, trees, fences,
tower etc. and animals that may
come in the vicinity and might
suffocate them to death.
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11. Q2:What are the adverse effects of Plastic Pollution?
 Air Pollution
Burning of plastic in the open air,
leads to environmental
pollution due to the release of
poisonous chemicals.
The polluted air when inhaled by
humans and animals affect their
health and can cause respiratory
problems.
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12. Q2:What are the adverse effects of Plastic Pollution?
 It Kills Animals
Despite countless TV ads and
other campaigns, these items are
still used and discarded each day.
Whether because the mass of
plastic has displaced animals or
the related toxins have poisoned
them, plastic pollution does a lot
of damage to the world’s
ecosystem.
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14. Q3: What can we do to stop it?
14
4R’s for Plastics!!
 Reduce
 Reuse
 Recycle
 Rebuy
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15. 15
Plastic Waste Management
Industrial
Waste
Commercial
Waste
Agricultural
Waste
Municipal
Waste
Collection
>> Bags, Sheets
>> Miscelle
-neous
>> Pipes,Tubes
>> Bottles
Extrusion
Injection
Moulding
Blow
Moulding
Film
Moulding
Sorting
Cleaning
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16. Initiatives by Indian Railways:
• Central Railways has decided to try
and implement a buy-back policy
for plastic bottles, as well as install
plastic bottle crushing machines at
some stations.
• Indian Railway Catering and
Tourism Corporation’s (IRCTC) has
started fully biodegradable food
packages in trains. The facility will
be available in four Shatabadi and
four Rajadhani trains from Delhi.
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17. 17
Video File…
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