Where will you go after this?

Has it ever occurred to you that once the planet called Earth is destroyed, we have no other place to go to. Save Earth, after all it is the only home we have. Students of AIS Saket and AIS Noida took their first step towards saving their planet as they reveled in Earth Day celebrations through numerous activities

AIS Saket 

Our very own planet earth has given us numerous things-air to breath, food to eat, and a place we can call home. And yet we do them more harm than good, by bombarding it with endless waste, some of which is easy to reuse and recycle. Students of AIS Saket tell you how.

Containers and buckets

Prisha, AIS Saket, VI

Impact: Take a look around in your kitchen. You will find that majority of items are stored in plastic containers. The reason - plastic containers are cheap, easy to use and require minimum maintenance. So while they are easy on us, they are not so easy on the environment. Case in point the toxic gases they release into the environment. Many variations and different combinations of resins and polymers are used to generate types of plastic which leaves toxic gaseous elements. Barely 10 percent of plastic is recycled and to be more precise ‘down-cycled’, for instance, from a soda bottle to winter coat insulation and finally reaches landfill.
 
Be a green warrior: We cannot eradicate plastic from Earth at once but minimalise its use by adopting the following measures:
nUse stainless steel containers, break proof glass water bottles, glass or ceramic mugs et al.
nRe-use waste buckets in the garden as pots, as an organiser for small household items or for storage of toys, near the main door for holding slippers and shoes or as storage for dirty linen or clean rolled up towels.

Toothbrush

Sharanya Gupta, AIS Saket, VI

Impact: Toothbrushes are a good idea as far as dental health is concerned but it is bad news for the environment. They are made from a toxic combination of plastic, rubber and nylon. Currently none of these elements are bio-degradable and remain in the land pit for long. In fact, they release toxic chemicals when destroyed. If they end up in oceans they can be consumed by marine animals which is harmful. If they are burnt they emit toxic gases which further causes greenhouse effect.
Be a green warrior: We can minimize the wastage of toothbrushes when they are no longer useful for cleaning your teeth by using them for other purposes.
nCleaning crevices of computer keyboard, cheese grater, nails, jewelry, bathroom silt, hair brush, bicycle chains, baby bottles, shoes, and scum deposited in oven and tiles.
nGarden markers for seeds in pots.
nFor grooming pet hair.
nAnother solution is the use of bio-degradable product, bamboo instead of plastic handles.
Pen

 Akshat, AIS Saket, VI

Impact: Did you know that more than 10 billion pens worldwide are disposed every year? And what’s worse is - a majority of these pens are made from non biodegradable plastic. Also, different inks and metal points increase the toxicity of pens disposed in waste. The waste is either disposed of in the landfills which doesn’t degrade into manure or thrown off in the oceans where the marine life is impacted due to the ink toxins or the beaches are washed off with the dirt.
Be a green warrior: For the damage they cause, it is important that we reuse and recycle them.
nWrapping ribbons, threads of wire on an old pen to prevent them from tangling up and for easy storage!
nAlso, a new alternative to disposable toxic pens is paper pens made of waste paper with metal bodied refills and where each pen carries a seed which grows into a tree.

Plastic bottles

Aria Puri, AIS Saket, VI

Impact: There goes the coke in my tummy and the plastic bottle on the road. In US alone, over 50 billion plastic bottles are produced every year. Made up of toxic material, these plastic bottles damage our environment like no other. It takes almost 450 years for a plastic bottle to break down and decompose. And even when they do breakdown, they emit toxic gases, which are harmful for the entire ecosystem, humans included. The key ingredient to make plastic bottles is crude oil. Over 47 million gallons of crude oil per year is wasted to produce plastic bottles which can be used for other purpose.
Be a green warrior: For all of the above reasons we should discontinue purchasing plastic bottles and adopt some of the following measures in day to day life.
nEncourage the use of jute bags which are bio- degradable in nature.
nVarious innovative items made up of plastic bottles such as vertical garden, chandelier, jewellery stand etc. can help recycle plastic bottles causing adverse change in the environment.
nAn eco-designer, Michelle Brand, designed an aesthetic curtain most people would perceive to be waste or rubbish. The fabric of the curtain is composed of the base of plastic bottles, which have been cut, sanded and then tagged together!

Plastic glasses

Shayna Singh, AIS Saket, VI

Impact: Just like other non biodegradable items, plastic causes damage to the environment, when dump both on land and water. When dumped on land, they prevent absorption of water and minerals by the soil, thereby deteriorating the soil quality. In water, the consumption of these plastic glasses put both terrestrial and aquatic animals at risk through ingestion and suffocation. The recycling of plastics consumes enormous amounts of energy.
Be a green warrior: The most viable option is to re-use plastic glasses:
nRe-use plastic glasses as plant hangers, lanterns.
nUse them as moulds to make candleholders.
nEvery time you drink coffee or tea, use mugs.
So friends, let’s all do our bit and make this planet plastic proof!