Ban On Plastic: A Shot In The Arm Of Dying Pottery

Plastic entered our planet in 1870. John Wesley Hyatt, an American extracted plastic from a material called celluloid.

Kishore Talukdar

By 2015, the world produced 322 million tons of plastic. But realization of adverse impact of plastic on the environment has only dawned on us now. Today, the world has to struggle to recover from the plastic deluge. In this battle, against plastic, humans must achieve victory, failing which plastic will lay us to rest. If human is the part of problem, human can be a part of solution to that problem. The recent call for avoiding the use of single-use plastic sounds convincing. But it is going to be just a small step forward which is friendly to Nature considering the host of human activities which are detrimental to Nature. The natural environment is dying for a much-needed respite from plastic pollutant. The move is laudable given the disastrous effect of this nuisance on our planet. It should have been a reality long ago, because non-biodegradable plastic has already taken toll on the health of the environment, but better late than never.

The move, luckily, will kill two birds with one stone. That is banishing both plastic from planet and unemployment from society. So, it is expected to give a big shot in the arm of the potters who were staring at bleak future. The beleaguered artisans are keeping their fingers crossed for the return of the glorious past of their bread winning vocation. As along with bamboo craft, pottery has to face the onslaught of aggression of plastic. In this regard, tumbler, a clay-crafted container, had been the casualty of this aggression. Euphoric over the turn of the event, potters could not help welcome the long awaited move. Dinesh Kumar, who sources his sustenance from pottery said: “Days of our vocation have already been numbered following the flooding of market by plastic. Tumbler’s disappearance from potter’s wheel inflicted a blow to our already battered state.” Virtually vanished from the top slot of their list of earthen wares, tumbler had been extensively used. In wedding, water and curd used to be served in tumbler. Also used in auspicious occasions including the festival of lights, lion’s share of the earnings made by potter was from selling earthen glass. Widespread use of earthen glass in picnic spots is common. Picnickers equipped with plastics go to natural site only to leave them.