India’s plastic menace is truly staggering. For starters, the country generates about 25,940 tonnes of plastic waste every day, of which at least 40% remains uncollected. Plastic that is disposed of improperly ends up choking animals and marine life, fills up our landfills and pollutes our rivers and oceans. India, in fact, contributes 60% of the plastic dump that ends up in the oceans, which are estimated to house more plastic than fish by 2050.

But how did we end up here? Right after its invention, plastic was known as the material of a thousand uses. It had a revolutionary impact on manufacturing and was, in fact, even advertised as the invention that would protect nature from human greed. From a boon of the modern age, plastic came to be an environmental threat due to its uncontrolled usage and improper disposal.

From here, the journey of plastic can go down two routes. It can either end up being a destructive force, or it can continue to be an economic boon minus much of the negative environmental impact. And the power to influence this journey lies with individuals.

An obvious first step is to reduce reliance on plastic items, especially single-use plastics. Mindful consumption and disposal of waste can go a long way in reducing plastic pollution in the environment. Another useful step is to commit to segregation of wet and dry waste so that plastic waste can end up in our booming plastic recycling industry instead of in landfills and the ocean. This pattern of mindful usage, proper disposal and recycle is the framework of a circular economy that ensures that resources like plastics remain in use for as long as possible.

Most plastics — owing to their chemical structure — are flexible and can be repurposed for more use and value. This is the insight behind Plastic Banega Fantastic, an initiative of Hindustan Unilever, which seeks to transform the fate of discarded plastic. As a part of the initiative, clean-up drives will be held in Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore. The plastic gathered from these clean-up drives will then be repurposed by Hindustan Unilever as useful items — such as spectacle frames, fishing boats and nets, park benches, planters — and will be given to communities that need such resources.

Plastic Banega Fantastic was launched on 19th January, with the aim to start a crucial conversation on the urgency of segregation of plastic waste. Sanjiv Mehta, chairman and managing director of Hindustan Unilever, stated, “By 2025, all our packaging material will be reusable and compostable.” He suggested that if an economic model can be created around wastage, it can turn the problem into opportunities. Actors Ajay Devgn and Kajol, as ambassadors of the initiative, commented on the acceleration of the problem, Ajay Devgn pointed out that the deadline keeps coming closer. Kajol, meanwhile, urged that “we all need to start doing our little bit.”

Take, for example, how an entire village rallied around a young boy who spotted Goriya, the cow, eating a polythene bag. See the villagers’ earnest effort to get Goriya to drop the polythene bag in the video below.

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Seeing the impact of plastic pollution first-hand can create the sense of urgency the crisis demands, and Plastic Banega Fantastic demonstrates a feasible way to slow it down. To know more about Hindustan Unilever’s Plastic Banega Fantastic initiative, click here. To stay updated on its clean-up drives, visit Facebook, Instagram, Twitter or follow #startalittlegood #plasticbanegafantastic.

This article was produced by the Scroll marketing team on behalf of Hindustan Unilever and not by the Scroll editorial team.