Life in Plastic is not Fantastic

Nature Nuggets

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We have entered the month of #PlasticFreeJuly and today we are celebrating the International Plastic Bag Free Day. This day was established by an organization, Zero Waste Europe in 2009 with an aim to remind ourselves, and others, that every action we take and every bag we dispose irresponsibly, affects the lives for generations to come.

Did you know that the plastic bags generated so far will be there on our planet till 3020! A single bag of plastic takes around 1000 years to decompose completely. This means that all the plastic bags produced so far are still on our planet lingering around as microplastics in our oceans or in our food!

Let’s dive into the latest edition of nature nuggets and learn how we can make a Plastic Bag Free World!

To celebrate #PlasticFreeJuly, let’s first understand plastics. Plastics aren’t as simple as you may think. Each type of plastic is different from the others. Some of them are reusable, the others produce hazardous material after multiple usage. Some are easily recyclable, others need more sophisticated and intricate handlings in its recycling process.

Take any plastic product lying in your home and study closely; you might find a number at its back or bottom. You probably already know what it is. The number indicates the type of plastic used to make the product you are holding. But do you know exactly what number you should avoid and what number can potentially damage our environment?

Check out the library of Plastic Tide Turner’s Challenge and learn about reusing and recycling your plastic waste. Take your action today!

Common Name: Seagulls
Scientific Name: Larus

Little did we know that Seagulls are very intelligent & clever birds. They learn, remember and even pass on behaviors, such as stamping their feet in a group to imitate rainfall and trick earthworms to come to the surface.

Gulls are known to have a complex and highly developed repertoire for communication which includes a range of vocalizations and body movements. Not just that, they are also known to be very attentive and caring parents. The male and female pair for life and they take turns incubating the eggs, and feeding and protecting the chicks.

Unfortunately, these beautiful birds are also getting adversely affected the huge plastic waste dumps and landfills. They are eating all of our garbage and scientists have found pieces of cutlery or aluminum foil or rubber bands and even cheese wrappers in their stomachs. It’s time we should understand how to make better use of smart technologies to sort and recycle plastic wastes and reduce the amounts of waste we generate every day.

Watch this video to know about these sneaky gulls!

Time to check your Nature Quotient!

On average, how long is a plastic bag used by a person before being thrown away?

a. 12 minutes
b. 1 hour
c. 1 day
d. 1 week

Answer to be revealed in our next edition!

Previous edition Answer: Animals like Sea anemones, lobsters and snails that typically live on the ocean floor are known as Benthos. Also known as Benthon, in Greek it typically means “Depth of the sea”. Hence, the deepest zone of a river/lake/ocean is also known as Benthic Zone.

Congratulations to everyone who guessed it right!

CHILDREN ARE THE TRUE BEACONS OF HOPE!

If they can do it, we too can.

In the latest podcast episode of Panda Speaks, our young ‘Beacons of the One Earth One Home (OEOH) programme’ will share the 3 steps they took at their home to protect life on the Earth.Take a green step and tune In: