The Indian Centre for Plastics in Environment (ICPE), a representative body of the Indian plastic industry had set up a 729 sq. ft stall (E-10) at the Chemtech WorldExpo 2003 to educate the public on how to use plastics responsibly.
In an exhibition dominated by the chemical and pharma industries, the ICPE stall stood out for attempting to show how plastics should be used and disposed of, without hurting the environment. The highlight of the exhibits is the section on the 100 per cent recyclability of various kind of used plastic products - be they PET bottles, polyethylene, polypropylene products that we use in innumerable ways, or PVC, the most versatile product. This section presents five practical steps to the three Rs. - Recovery, Recycle and Reuse process.
"The theme of the ICPE stall is meant to send out a message to the public as well as industry - we cannot imagine life without plastics, but we have to live with plastics responsibly," says K. G Ramanathan, President, Governing Council, ICPE. "It is an attempt to provide comprehensive information on how plastics are integral in our day-to-day life and what needs to be done with plastics products after use."
The ICPE exhibit focuses attention on how plastics protect the environment and help in sustainable development. For instance, plastic is a major wood substitute. Plastic crates have replaced wooden crates, reducing the need to fell hundreds of thousands of trees. Plastic lumber is replacing wood as park benches, metals as road dividers, signal posts etc.
Its flexibility, lightweight and affordable cost, has also made it accessible to the poorest of poor as well as the wealthy. Plastic sheets, tanks and tubes play a major role in conserving precious water. Plastics are used in rainwater harvesting, canal lining, arid zone cultivation, in mulching, sprinkler, drip irrigation and sapling pouches.
Engineering plastics have a greater role in conserving precious fuel. Nearly 40 per cent of today''s cars have plastic parts, making them lighter and more fuel-efficient. The use of plastics in refrigeration has resulted in substantial energy saving. The change over from glassbottles to PET, has reduced transportation costs considerably, besides adding to capacity addition and reducing weight.
The ICPE stall also highlights how plastics are an integral part of today''s healthcare systems. Doctors depend on the one-time use plastic products for preventing cross contamination and bacterial infection from spreading, thus saving lives. Blood bags, syringes, catheters, heart valves, oxygen masks, orthopedic implants - plastics play a major role in cutting costs and increasing safety and protection. The growing use of plastics in packaging along is an eye opener, as the exhibits at the ICPE stall show.
The exhibition graphically presents ICPE''s efforts about the importance of plastics in our lives and their safe and right use and disposal. ICPE''s efforts in helping to tackle waste - such as the Municipal Solid Waste segregation projects in 6 Mumbai Municipal ward areas in Mumbai, recycling of segregated plastic products, its initiatives in creating awareness among school children in many cities of the country on environment protection are all part of the exhibition. It is playing a significant role in cleaning up the popular hill station near Mumbai, Matheran, and the temple town of Tirupathi.
The stall will travel to New Delhi, for the Plastindia Plastics Exhibition at Pragati Maidan, opening on February 15, 2003.