Incentivized Reduction of Plastic through innovation
Emotion on Communication
The usefulness of plastic in the modern era is undeniable as it supercedes all othermaterials due to its high strength-to-weight ratio.However, plastic waste management is a critical issue. Out of the 300 million tons ofplastic produced annually, half of this volumes is single-use plastics which neverbreak down completely but instead become microplastics that absorb toxins andcontinue to pollute the environment. The environmental cost of production of plasticbags and bottles is quite high – 17 million barrels of oil are used every year to produceplastic bottles, whereas in America, 100 million plastic bags are used annually,requiring 12 million barrels of oil. This necessitates a better and more thoroughprocedure to handle and track the consumption of plastic and its infusion into theenvironment.This study is a proposal of new ideas, innovation and policies that will steer us awayfrom the destruction of the eco-system. Our aim is to reduce the maximum amount ofone-time plastic usage and trace back every single household plastic bag beforeending up in the eco system. To this end, we are proposing policies, governance, amobile application and a physical plastic disposal/dispensing unit.The system is divided into three phases, planning, innovation and execution.PlanningFor the successful delivery of our project we need to adhere to the followingconstraints1. The targeted supermarkets will not provide any plastic bags to the customers.2. Customers can procure the bags from vending machines (VMs) located at thesupermarkets and Shopping Mall.Also we need to set up some policies that will define the execution of our project
1. Customers will have to pay in order to collect new plastic bags.
2. The vending machines will be able to accept used plastic bags or bottles. Onreturn of the bags/bottles, the customers will get new bags or points proportional tothe number of items submitted.
3. These points can be used to collect new poly bags or redeemed into cashawards for pre defined government services(like public transport).
4. Customer will be provided with ID cards tagged to their social security numberand phone numbers. This card will be used during withdrawal and submission ofplastic items and will help us in accounting for the plsatic usage.
5. Quota System: Customers can not hold more than a certain amount of plasticbags, exceeding which, they will be penalized with demerit points or increased cost ofpredefined public services.
6. Products produced by using recycled plastics will be exempted/discounted fromgovernment tax.