Plastic is indeed harmful and poisonous for humans as well as animals. If we don’t recycle it, it becomes food for animals which can make them unhealthy. However, there are people who are working to minimise the impact of plastic on animals.
Gaurav Dutt, founder of Ecotroop Foundation and a resident of Rohini, spoke to CitySpidey and shared details about his initiative in this direction. He and his team started collecting plastic from different apartments in Noida, Gurgaon and Delhi. Dutt started this initiative on November 1, 2018.
Dutt said, “Through this initiative, we wanted to decrease the amount of plastic dumped in dustbins. Under this, we started collecting plastic waste littered on roads and around the dumping areas. The plastic waste are generally eaten by the animals which is very hazardous to their health.”
He said that mostly cows roam around dumping areas and they consume the plastic waste. “We generally ignore and don't take these animals to a veterinary doctor for treatment. Dogs do get a treatment and a lot of people care for them but cows are comparatively a neglected lot. Sometimes, animals die after consuming plastic waste,” he said.
Dutt emphasized that plastic shouldn’t be dumbped in the dustbins and this should be stopped immediately. Sharing details about the work that they do, he said, “My team collects plastic waste, newspapers, books, glass bottles etc. We give these items to needy,” he added.
Dutt continued, “From November 1, 2018 to till now, we have collected 3000 kilogram plastic and avoided them from getting dumped in dustbins. Whatever amount we generate, we use the money for procuring food for cows and birds.”
“If we are not responsible for taking care of someone’s life then we shouldn’t cause them death. If you use plastic then don’t put them in dustbins, rather recycle them,” he concluded. Dutt has been collecting plastic waste from various apartments like Prateik Wisteria, Ajanara Heritage Grand, Supertech Capetown, Antariksh AVG 1 and 2, and many more.
