Plastic Ban - A Myth | Polymer Engineering at MIT-WPU

Today everywhere people are talking on the plastic ban and the environmental damage it is causing. Awareness towards polymer disposal is more to be highlighted and understood so that the same plastic can be reused again and again in various applications besides the recycling option.

Unfortunately, as the cost of the carry bags is so less, people are using it one time and disposing it without reusing it again and again. Today, plastic has a vast area of application in practically all areas like Auto, Medical, Agriculture, Electronics, Mobile phones, Construction, Aerospace, Packaging, Paints, Adhesives, Rubbers, Dentistry, etc. and so one cannot LIVE WITHOUT PLASTICS.

Today in general, the substitute found for plastic carry bags is paper bags. These paper bags are having a one-time application due to its low strength and moisture/water absorption making it the further week. In fact, the resource from which paper is obtained is from nature ie wood. Today, we all are aware of the drastic effects caused by global warming and knowing trees help fight climate change, they are not to be cut. Also, the chemicals used in making paper along with the printing ink used for printing gets disposed in the environment after the paper is thrown away after one-time use. Hence, using paper carry bags is of more serious concern from environment point of view.

Hence, there is need to get the awareness of people towards right use of plastic bags and also knowledge of proper disposal that would require segregation and later reusing the same material for various other applications like making roads. Recycled material has also a market and so it should be known that the plastic disposed correctly shall avoid damaging environment and each person should take it as their own responsibility towards social cause to use plastic with responsibility and gain benefit from the advantages offered.

Polymer does not mean only carry bags, but has a huge area of applications in commodity like bottles, toothbrushes, cans, buckets, etc. to engineering application like gears, bumpers, dashboard, skis, etc. which has hence opened variety of jobs along with  option of higher education in areas like Material Science. In fact, today most of the metal parts in cars and airplanes are replaced with high-performance polymers and composites to reduce weight and thus efficiency apart from many other advantages like thermal, electrical and environmental stability. Hence, more the areas of applications, more are the job opportunities.

At MIT-WPU, there is Polymer Engineering course that is been offered since 1983 and students passing out from this branch are placed at very high positions in Industries like Reliance, DSM, Kingfa, Verroc, Bosch, Tata Motors, Volswagen, Faurecia Ltd., Garware Wall ropes and many more all over India.

Contact Details:

• Mrs. Anagha Khare
  Assistant Professor
  Department of Polymer Engineering
  MIT-WPU, Pune, Maharashtra, India
  anagha.khare@mitwpu.edu.in