Polythene and plastics have been accountable for uncontrollable hazards occurred in the present world. Scientists have revealed that polythene has lifetime of over hundred years, it reveals that this hazards are contaminating unborn generations due our present actions. The main irritating issue we confront today is global warming, one reason due to the excessive usage of the polythene and plastic matters. These products have affected the whole biodiversity; when it is buried in soil which takes long duration to digest and mainly it work as a barrier against natural water springs. Mainly in international content plastic is final dump to ocean, which has threatened the sea creatures and indirectly countries who owns an ocean, hence contaminants are transferred though food chain. According to McClimon “over eight million tons of plastic ends up in oceans in every year.”
International bodies have taken the initiative step to overcome issues raised due to plastic and polythene usage. Several NGOs as follows;
- 5 GYRES
- Algalita
- Clear Blue Sea
- Earth Day Network
- Friends on the Earth
- Greenpeace
- Natural Resources Defense Council
- One Green Planet
- Oceana
- Plastic Change
- Plastic-Pollution.org
- Plastic Pollution Coalition
- Plastic Oceans
- Surf rider Foundation
- World Wild Fund
However in Sri Lankan context only few organizations have established to fight against the burning circumstances. ‘Green Sharks’ have formed in order to make the difference with in the society and co-operate as a linkage among the authorized parties. So ‘Green Sharks Active Citizens’ have implemented a new concept to inspire consumers towards green consumption, rather than affecting the intentions of the consumers.
Julia Hill stated that “you have to hold yourself accountable for your actions, and that is how we are going to protect the Earth.”
Main objective is to generate self-criticism among community in order to use polythene and plastics. It inspires the consumers to reject polythene and plastic products. Active citizens are towards the issue to overcome it and make the environment safe for the unborn generation by eradicating the presence of polythene and plastics. However due to consideration on cleanliness and current life style of the community has provided a larger opening for the non-degradable materials. However Active citizens have commenced the project ‘Green Sharks’ not only to reduce the usage of these contaminants but also to educate the community and come up with most reliable solution by focusing at the current situation in different direction.
As an initiative ‘Green Sharks’ have collected data regarding the consumption patterns with in the University of Moratuwa premises through reliable resources. Data has become the key for decision making and analyzing process; however following approaches has been initiated based on above statistics;
- Providing inspirational tokens on tables
- Maintaining a Facebook page with daily thoughts
- Stickers and bands to promote green consumption
- Discourage polythene usage with demonstrational acting
- Encourage the usage of lunch boxes
- Encourage consumers to refuse usage of straws
- Reduce the usage of polythene bags
We are aiming the regular and non-regular consumers to aware them regarding the threat that they create towards the environment. It makes them to debrief their actions in order to optimize the usage of plastics and polythene.
Furthermore ‘Green Sharks’ are concerned regarding sensitive matters. Mainly considerable amount of population has chosen plastics and polythene production as well as recycling process as their livelihood, so as active citizens particular project ensures the job security of every person, while inspiring the community towards ‘Green Consumption’ patters. It ensures the biodiversity of the environment and we believe it may be a positive impact to the community which has initiated with in knowledge hub such as University of Moratuwa.
At present ‘Green Sharks – Active Citizens’ are developing a platform to get the interaction from local and international community which generates more stamina to the efforts of the ‘Active Citizens’. Basically we have launched a Facebook page to educate the community regarding our current activities and also to educate the interested personalities to get involved.
Development and innovation should not abuse our soil, it should be a jewel to preserve it for the future generations. However this cannot be done in hard and fast rules and regulations, instead we are cultivating good vibes among ourselves to become Active Citizens to activate the interested communities. This program generates virtues among local communities to resurrect from the darkness and produce ‘Green Hearts’ from University of Moratuwa.