Question

Why are plastic wastes more harmful than food wastes? How can we manage plastic waste?

Answer 1

Plastic wastes are more harmful than food wastes as they are non-biodegradable and do not get decomposed through natural processes, such as action by bacteria. Since plastic wastes take several years to decompose, they are not environment friendly and cause environmental pollution.

5 R principles (Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, and Recover) can be adopted for effective management of plastic wastes.

$\bullet$ Refuse means to avoid the use of plastic items which are not needed​.

$\bullet$ Reduce means to minimise the use of plastics and instead use alternatives​.

$\bullet$ Reuse means to re-utilise the same plastic for same or different purpose​.

$\bullet$ Recycle means to transform the plastic wastes into new synthetic materials​.

$\bullet$ Recover means to convert plastic wastes into resources or energy.