Adaaya - Blog , Plastic pollution

How can you make political events more sustainable?(Hint: The answer is not plastic!)

Thu, 20 Apr 2023 14:58:00 +0530

Thousands of people attend political events and rallies every year. It stands to reason that they need refreshments to keep themselves going through the day. But these gatherings leave behind a trail of litter, mostly comprised of plastic. There’s only so much the clean-up efforts can do. At least some of the waste finds its way to forests and other places it shouldn’t be. There is nothing we can do to prevent people from carrying food and drink to such events, but what we can do is give them sustainable ways to carry them. Biodegradable areca palm leaf plates are sturdy enough to carry the food requirements for a day, and when disposed of, they decompose till they become fertilizer for the soil. It is up to us to make sure people make the change!

Know the highest point of plastic pollution on Earth? Read to find out!

Thu, 20 Apr 2023 14:56:16 +0530

8440 metres high! That’s a point on Mt. Everest, where researchers found piles of plastic left behind by mountaineers. It appears there is no place on Earth that hasn’t seen the scourge of plastic. Indeed, hill stations around the world are affected by this issue, as tourists come and go with no regard for the environment. People carry single-use plastics like biscuit wrappers and soft drink cans, and litter the hills and mountains with them. This affects the hills in a myriad of ways. On one hand, it can affect the delicate ecology of the hill by changing water drainage and supply patterns. On the other hand, animals that inhabit the hills may consume the plastics leading to a slow and painful death. One simple solution to this problem is biodegradable alternatives like areca palm leaf products. The next time you go on a picnic or trek, you know what to do!

Choose areca, choose safer food!

Thu, 20 Apr 2023 14:53:38 +0530

The food chain—when was the last time you thought about it? Probably back in school when you were studying about it. Plastics have given us a reason to think about it again, unfortunately. Microplastics have invaded the bottom of the food chain, and are ingested by the organisms at the bottom of the pyramid. As the food chain progresses, the plastics also make their way up, until they reach the food that we eat. Indeed researchers have found “forever chemicals”, which are extremely toxic chemicals, in our plastic containers as well as in our food. There is no one to blame but ourselves, and it is our responsibility to mitigate the damage as much as we can. The first step is to stop using plastics, wherever possible, and substitute them with biodegradable materials like areca palm leaves. Are you convinced enough to make the change?

Plastic in your blood? Stop it with areca!

Thu, 20 Apr 2023 14:49:38 +0530

Microplastics in our blood! Yes, you read that right, scientists have now found traces of microplastics in our bloodstreams and there’s only one explanation as to how they got there: our food and drink! Our water supply is getting contaminated more and more with every passing day. The plastics that we leave lying around all over the planet get broken down very slowly, and the microplastics from these seep through the soil, and into the groundwater. It is estimated that terrestrial microplastic pollution by plastics is 20 times worse than marine microplastic pollution. They harm not only us, but also the environment by hurting the water supply that the fauna of our world draws on. Instead, if we were to use biodegradable materials, we would be fertilizing the soil when we disposed of them. We must make the right choice before it is too late!

Do you know how many landfill fires occur every year?

Fri, 14 Apr 2023 22:53:35 +0530

"Fire!" Isn’t this one of the most dreaded expressions? Every year, the United States sees an average of over 8000 fires, and they cause a few injuries too, by way of smoke inhalation. The fires begin due to the gases produced by landfills, especially methane. Once enough has built up, all it takes is a little heat to ignite a dangerous fire. In fact, in 2021, a landfill fire in North Carolina continued to burn for a few months with no way to put it out. What makes them so hard to extinguish? Simple—all the e-waste and plastics that we dump in the landfills! They release large amounts of toxic smoke that make it hard to get close enough to put out the fire, besides the sheer size of the fires. Biodegradable materials like areca palm leaves would ensure we don’t have to dump anything in landfills. When will you make the shift?

Choose Adaaya's areca, and breathe better!

Fri, 14 Apr 2023 22:48:33 +0530

Land and water—they both get polluted by plastic. As if that isn’t bad enough, plastics don’t stop at that! They also pollute the air! And when they’re dumped in landfills, the problem is just being made worse. Landfills, on their own, produce greenhouse gases continuously, and can do so for over 50 years, contributing to global warming. Small fires break out every now and then, and when plastics get burnt by them, toxic gases are released. These gases can do a lot of damage to living organisms, including humans, and are just another reason as to why we need to reduce our disposable plastic usage. When will you shift to something more sustainable?

Help stop plastic from entering marine bellies!

Sun, 09 Apr 2023 12:35:47 +0530

How would you like to find out you’ve swallowed a bit of plastic? Well, that’s exactly what is happening to marine life! Every other week, if not day, someone finds a fish, or a large shark, that has swallowed plastic waste, and been rendered unable to eat. They often mistake the colourful plastic for food and swallow it. Of course, they cannot digest it and the plastic causes them great pain and often, a slow death. Sometimes, the plastic can give them the illusion of being full, and the animals fall prey to starvation. The best solution to all this? Use less plastics! Disposable plastics are the worst causes of these tragic incidents and there is no better time than now to shift to sustainable alternatives like palm leaf products! What do you say?

A plastic island 2 times the size of Texas!

Sat, 01 Apr 2023 17:30:22 +0530

Ever heard of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch? It’s virtually island, spanning over three times France’s area, and guess what it’s made of. Plastic! And that isn’t all, there are tonnes of plastic scattered through all the other oceans, doing their worst. In fact, every year, we let over 8million tonnes of plastics to pollute the oceans. These plastics can absorb pollutants and release them in the water, polluting the oceans and making them unviable for the survival of marine lifeforms. Moreover, ocean currents carry these plastics to far-off places that would otherwise never know the word “plastic”, and that is why they’ve been found in places like Antarctica. This could cause harm to penguins and the generally fragile fauna of the icy continent. Don’t you think it’s our responsibility to stop polluting oceans with plastic?

Why you should stop using plastics

Wed, 29 Mar 2023 23:32:48 +0530

150000 metric tons! That’s how much solid waste we Indians produce everyday, and that number isn’t falling any time soon. Over 90% of this waste makes its way to the landfills of the country—large tracts of land with toxic waste, and nothing else. These landfills produce a liquid called leachate that soaks into the ground and contaminates the water table, and thus our water supply. Besides these, nature also has to contend with the bane that is plastic. Plastic waste prevents rainwater and condensation from percolating into the ground, and thus causes a fall in aquifer levels, thereby contributing to drought-like conditions. All this only points to the reality that we need to start using less plastics and more sustainable alternatives. Have you taken the necessary steps?