In Goa, 50,000 plus plastic carry bags are used every day; that’s not all, 80 per cent of our dry waste is generated in our kitchens, 72 per cent of the clothing we wear is plastic, and we consume equal to one credit card of micro plastic every week.
These are some shocking realities of today’s consumerist world, stated at a recent panel discussion on ‘Plastics in Goa’s environment: Present scenario and solutions’, held at the WWF India-Goa office, at Panjim. These facts were presented during the launch of the WhatsApp chatbot by WWF-India to collect information on plastic littered on Goan beaches.
The chatbot offers a user-friendly platform for the general public to report the location, quantity and images of beach litter.
All this plastic, which travels from rivers and streams to the sea is mainly household waste.
CHANGING TRENDS
Clinton Vaz of VRecycle Waste Management Services, Goa, which manages the waste of 45,000 households in Goa, stated that he began this journey more than 15 years ago, but the issue of plastic is still not only solved, but has aggravated, instead.
He said, “We are over-worked and drowned in plastic. We need to change our consumption pattern.”
Vaz mentioned that during the Covid-19 lockdown in 2020, when all restaurants, hotels, shops were shut, they assumed that the amount of plastic would be reduced.
On the contrary, it increased as people started buying stuff online, including food delivery. This resulted in packaging waste and single-use plastic. This trend has not stopped even after the pandemic, indicating a change in consumer behaviour.
Sanjeev Khandelwal of Sensible Earth elaborated about the Maka Naka Plastic campaign where they make carry bags from discarded cloth. He informed that fast fashion is the second largest contributor to landfill in the world.
Their campaign has saved 60,000 garments from going to the landfill and have made 75,000 bags from them, while also providing employment to 62 women from the marginalised community.
While pointing out the issues, Vaz elaborated that Goa is one of the states that has not come up with a waste policy. Also, under the law, it is mandated that the producers have to take back the waste under the EPR (Extended Producer Responsibility). But it is not visible on ground.
He also pointed out that, as consumers, we need to be aware about products with over packaging, and socially boycott those products. He also said that most of our grocery stuff comes in non-recyclable plastic, in MLP and tetra pak, etc.
He then added that recyclable waste, which was once 80 per cent, is now around 40 per cent since most of our waste is non-recyclable and single use these days.
“Goa sends around 16,000 tonnes of plastic waste (non-recyclable) a month, or 2 lakh tonnes a year, to five cement factories (where it is used instead of coal) to neighbourhood states. And if tomorrow, these factories shut down, Goa’s waste management will just collapse,” he stated.
Abhinav Apte of ComePostVille, a community-based group that focuses on composting household wet waste by bringing like-minded people together, said that there is a need to incentivise people who are involved in clean-up drives, who segregate their waste, etc. He said that building communities is of utmost importance as it helps in solving issues related to composting, gardening, etc.
SOME REALITIES
He added, “There is no quick solution, and the government, manufacturers and the public have to work together. And, that’s the problem.”
Vaz also highlighted that sometimes mis-information adds to the problem. He gave the example of a viral message that encourages putting your plastic waste in a plastic bottle. He said that it was cumbersome to remove that plastic while sorting the waste. This results in cutting the bottle which could have been recycled.
Khandelwal said that the issue of plastic waste has become white noise now and we have reached a tipping point. He believes that elimination of plastic is the only solution and one should start from their kitchen first.
Vaz informed that the biggest source of plastic in Goa is mixed waste, used diapers/sanitary pads and slaughter waste, which also results in breeding of stray dogs. He said that he has to spend ₹ 21 to dispose of 1 kg of diapers, and consumers are not ready to spend that much money, and thus these items land on roadsides.
He then spoke about the 18 per cent GST which gets cut from their profits.
Khandelwal stated that tourism was a major factor when it comes to the garbage issue in Goa. He informed that, in Goa, there are 90 flights during the (tourist) season; that’s like 1 lakh tourists by flight alone. That’s putting tremendous pressure on Goa’s resources.
“We need to change the narrative about Goa. It is a biodiversity hotspot, an extremely fragile ecosystem and one has to walk carefully.”
In his address, Dr Pradeep Sarmokadam, Member Secretary of the Goa State Biodiversity Board, who officiated the WhatsApp chatbot, spoke about the various issues related to garbage in Goa. He said, “Our policy, laws, are excellent on paper, but execution is a failure. I personally feel that it can be solved with behavioural change and it is a long journey.”
Dr Sarmokadam elaborated that Goa has reached its carrying capacity when it comes to garbage or tourism as Goa receives tourists which are 4 times its population. “Now everyone wants to have a second home in Goa, and we can’t keep one house clean,” said Dr Sarmokadam.
He informed that the 44 coastal biodiversity communities are looking at the debris line on the beach to keep the beaches clean. He said that it was the duty of the government and also of the citizens to come forward as a community to solve this menace.
The event was held on June 8, 2023 which is observed as World Oceans Day. The discussion was moderated by Senior Coordinator, Marine WWF-India Goa Office, Aditya Kakodkar.