Stop Doing This With Your Milk Packet and Save the Planet
The small piece of Milk Packet we chop off while opening the packet can actually turn out to be a disaster for the environment. What are we doing wrong?
The comfort & convenience of humans has caused the world’s biggest problems. Environmental degradation & pollution is one amongst them. How convenient it is to snip or tear off a portion of the milk sachet or chips packet. But have we ever wondered where these small pieces of plastic end up? Even if these pieces are thrown into a designated non-biodegradable bin, do they actually make it to the landfill and recycling units to be processed? A few months ago, Karnataka BJP Vice-President Tejaswini Ananthkumar had tweeted that if milk packets were opened without separating a small piece of it, about 50 lakh such pieces can be prevented from making it to the garbage. She also stated that these small pieces cannot be recycled. The message started doing the rounds on social media platforms, making one wonder if it was true.
Why are small plastic pieces not recyclable?
Milk packets are made of low-density polyethylene (LDPE), which is a subclass of plastics. To be recycled, this type of plastic has to be compressed at a high temperature and in a certain shape; else, they add no value. They end up at landfills and pollute the environment and clog drains. Now what can and needs to be done? Ideally, such packets or sachets should be opened by cutting a line halfway across the cover, which will not separate the packet into two parts and the smaller part will be kept attached to the big part. However, here are some other easier techniques: If a portion of the packet is snipped off, make sure to put it in the main packet before disposing of it. All small acts help save the environment.
