Pristine to polluted: Our daily choices matter ..

My father was digging up a new larger patch for a vegetable garden in our backyard in my native village Mundur, Kerala. We dug a few feet below the soil and to my utter dismay, we unearthed several plastic items, plastic bag, bottles, lids and toys. We looked for a new spot and the same story there too. The plastic was choking the earth everywhere!

 

Straw broom or plastic broom

We were digging up what my relatives have been burying for the last several decades. Most of the state of Kerala is densely populated. Every house hold is responsible for disposing off their own garbage as there are no dumping grounds or landfills unless you dumped in someone else's backyard. Each house had a septic tank that took care of toilet wastes. All other household items like wooden furniture, steel/iron or aluminum utensils were buried in the backyard and it slowly decomposed over time. Garbage disposal was a non-issue until the introduction of plastics in rural India a few decades ago.

Garbage disposal is now a nightmare in rural areas. People are left with only two choices, to bury them or burn them. In Kerala, we have run out of space for burying and people have started burning plastic in their backyard. We all know the great dangers of burning plastic which includes cancer and several respiratory diseases. The once pristine air is now polluted with dangerous chemicals created when plastic burns. 

We have to wake up and evaluate our everyday choices. We have to return to the "old" ways of living or the day is not too far before we choke in our own filth!