UNICEF India cautions against cutting the tips of plastic packets with educational video | Watch

It's incredibly convenient to tear open a milk or chips packet by just cutting the tip. However, we stop considering about where these small pieces of plastic end up. UNICEF India has very beautifully shown through an educational animated video how we must cut any plastic packet.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by UNICEF India (@unicefindia)

How hazardous are the cut tips of plastic packets?

Small pieces of plastic pose a significant hazard. These small pieces of plastics go into our ocean and then into the systems of the ocean animals through food. This causes huge harm to the innocent animals who unknowingly gulp down plastic particles.

Surprisingly, these small plastic cutouts also end up in garbage bins, water sources, and landfills. They get consumed by stray animals causing severe damage. By refraining from cutting the corners of these packets, we can significantly reduce our ecological footprint.

Here's how we can make a difference by ditching a common practice of not cutting the tips completely and just a bit to pour out milk, curd or oil.

Why are small plastic pieces not recyclable?

To understand this concept, we must first understand the composition of plastics found in milk packets. These packets often contain low-density polyethylene (LDPE). For this type of plastic to be recyclable, it requires specific conditions: high temperature compression and a particular shape. Otherwise, these small pieces contribute little to recycling efforts.

If these plastic scraps don't reach recycling facilities, they degrade into microplastics, similar in size to the microbeads. These microbeads can then find their way into water bodies and landfills via rain and wind, causing clogging issues.

Hazards posed by these minuscule triangular plastics

These tiny microplastics intrude our ecosystem, posing threats to both animals and humans.

They enter water bodies and are ingested by marine animals, often leading to death

Additionally, these minuscule plastics end up in landfills, impeding the smooth flow of water.

More than one-third of daily household ‘branded plastic’ waste originates from dairy product packaging.

Microbeads from milk packets can linger in landfills for extended periods. When ignited, typically during summer, the burning chlorinated plastic emits cancer-causing furans and dioxins.

Also watch: Exercise in summer: Avoid heat exhaustion and dehydration this season, workout with caution