Plastic waste has become near ubiquitous, threatening ecological stability. Explain. Also, discuss various measures taken by the government to contain further environmental degradation by plastic wastes.

Plastic waste :- Threatens ecological stability

NASA recently released a satellite image of "Pacific Garbage Patch" which has consistently been increasing in size. This is an environmental concern as -:

(1) Plastic pollution has cascading effect on environment

(2) According to UNEP 40% of global plastic ends up in the world ocean.

(3) They lead to issue of microplastics which not just harm aquatic life but enters

our food chain as well. (4) This has lead to creation of a new habitat "Plasticrust" (5) These regions are hypoxic (low oxygen level) impacting marine biodiversity (6) They are non-biodegradable and thus stay in soil for a very long period (7) Act as a breeding ground for deadly microbes (8) Disturbs the natural micro biome.

and, through these issues it has become a cause of threatening ecological stability both on land and water.

Measures taken by Government :- To tackle the challenge of plastic pollution government has taken several measures like :-

(1) Plastic waste management Rule, 2016 was brought in order

to tackle pollution through it's lifecycle approach (2) Ban on single use plastic from July 2022 (3) Increase in the thickness of the plastic to be used (70 micron -> 120 micron) (4) The Government has further expanded the Extended Producer Responsibility for plastic waste generators