Have you ever wondered why do children carry a water bottle to school? I can understand that schools in Rural India might not have access to purified drinking water, but what about the modern schools in Metros and Tier 1 cities? Aren’t these schools fitted with state of the art RO- Water purifiers? Any child can drink from them directly, isn’t it?
All of us who are fortunate to get a school education would have followed this diligently. What happens when we complete our school education and go to College? All of a sudden, like magic our beloved companion of 10 years is forgotten and left behind. Probably, this is the first lesson of Life, that nothing is permanent.
This realisation struck me during one of my trips to Mahabaleshwar a famous hill station in Maharashtra. I found a few plastic water bottles stuck in some of the trees down the valley. The sight was depressing but I was equally indignant with the human callousness.
A few months back I read a book called ” Turning the Tide on Plastic” by Lucy Siegel. This book made me cringe in exasperation about the danger of single-use plastic. Everything we touch turns out to be Plastic. I bet everything. Even the coffee cup takeaways from our favourite cafe which we assume are made of paper.
Probably we are beyond the threshold of no return. Annually 8 million tonnes of plastic is entering our oceans and 300 million tonnes are produced every year. At this rate, there will be more plastics than fish in our Oceans by 2050! Most of us have no idea of the consequences if that happens
I have no intention to write a grim blog. But, if you like reading, then I highly recommend reading this book to change the perspective of Plastic pollution. There are baby steps each one of us can take to try and reverse the tide. The simple albeit effective lesson taught in school to carry a water bottle can make a lot of difference.
A family of 4 travelling on a weekend gateway consumes at least 25 Litres of water. That is 25 Plastic Water bottles! Multiply it million of families who are holidaying on a daily basis.
I would appeal to all of you to buy 1 Litre steel bottle per person. It is a one-time investment that lasts a lifetime. It’s lightweight and it obediently fits into the backpack pockets too. A good quality bottle costs hardly âš150-200 against âš20 per water bottle you end up paying.
Whenever and wherever I leave my home I fill up my water bottle. Be it at the airport or at the hotel when I start my day for sightseeing. Surely, there will be a resistance to change, but it’s easy and convenient to follow. Thus a little bit of push from you to do the right thing can set the ball rolling for you and your family. Who knows many of your loved ones and relatives can be influenced too.
The icing on the cake is the nostalgia of going back to school. Who doesn’t want it?
Yes…well written…but question would be about the quality of water…in India it would be hard to find proper safe drinking water when you are travelling..
Agree with you. To completely get rid of a plastic bottled water is a big ask. But if you can reduce buying a few bottles by carrying it from your home or your hotel it is still a good start. I am appealing to all my friends and readers to make this small effort.
Absolutely Indra ! It’s an eye opener for me. It’s a simple solution. Going to carry a steel bottle. We used to carry many plastic bottles ( bisleri). Only issue is that every place one visits does not have portable water. Any solutions to that one !
At places wherein you cannot avoid buying a plastic water bottle, please buy a 5 litre bottle and fill it up in your water bottle. One plastic bottle is better than five I guess.
Plastic pollution impacts biodiversity & affects human health. It is our throwaway culture that has allowed this to happen. I agree that carrying a steel bottle is a good start but the problem still exists of refilling with Purifief water. Atleast we need to act like educated mass of using garbage bin to throw away bottles rather than littering.
The biggest polluter is actually the Fishing lines which not only scrapes the ocean floor but also leave the nets in the water killing a lot of marine life. The solution to that is stop eating fish. But I guess we cannot request someone to change their eating habit. Thus let us start with a small step and then take it from there.
Stop eating fish? ImpossibleâĻ
Lets start to carry Steel bottleđ
Ha ha ha.
Very well articulated… juxtaposed with other travel blogs a banker is evident in article
Pls share to your loved ones and friends so that the message spreads as far as possible
Agree completely. The situation is grim, and needs a concentrated effort to reduce the use of single-use plastic
Really a very well articulated. One think I really like here is implementing to our kids since childhood of getting our own bottles, utensils to school or trip or get togather. its not just school. Even as a parent we should teach kids in our day to day life
Please keep blogging..
I am glad that you are such a responsible parent. Keep it up !
Very true…but one of the main reasons we use mineral water outside is the convenience it offers…many a times while travelling water gets over and there is no option other than buying mineral water..
Maybe the solution lies in using some alternatives like coated paper ( e.g paper boat) instead of using plastic..People will always prefer convenience over long term impact on environment..hence its important that companies themselves start using the alternatives
While I am not sure about Paper boat but mostly what you perceive as paper use polythelene which is micro plastics. When it is unavoidable to buy water please buy a 5 litre bottle as 1 bottle is better than 5
Very Nicely Articulated Babu Moshai…. Plastic has become more of a curse than blessing and this could be the first step towards providing a better and plastic free future to our kids…
As it takes drop by drop to fill a pot, likewise once people start following this one by one, we can make the change…. Thanks for sharing thisđ..
Very well written mate and a great topic where all of us can contribute to help our mother earthâĻ.cant agree any more. Also its really important that we pass on the same consciousness to our next generation. I personally try to use metal/glass bottles wherever possible to try to reduce the carcinogenic risk which we human still have not figured out completely..cheersđđ
Awesome. Please share the post among your friends and loved ones too so that the message spreads as far and as loud as possible
Nice thought Roy! Letâs live in nostalgia and carry steel water bottle.
This is good
A subject which has always been close to me…
Life inside Plastic..
Roy, you have walked across dimensions to weave the plot..A good read
I read one comment that quality of water is a question if you take along 1 Ltr bottle from home. you are bound to buy 2-3 Litres plastic bottles. Keep writing
The point about water quality is a very valid point and it takes a lot of discipline to ask for 5 ltr or 2 ltr bottle instead of 1 Itr in those scenarios. My idea of writing is to create a recollection whenever my readers travel and reach out for the plastic bottle easily available
Totally Agree. A very simple and effective way to do our bit towards the conservation of Nature.đđģ
Thanks for your blog, nice to read. Do not stop.
Thank you for your encouragement. Will continue to write
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