Swamped

Smug and surging If the annual plastic consumption in India rose by as little as one kilogramme per capita, the total demand would increase by about one million tonnes. The plastic industry looks forward to encashing this market potential. High profits and increasing demand ensure it grows exponentially

Plastic shakeout

Three-four soft drinks bought in paper cups with plastic tops, some biscuits in a plastic wrapper, a packet of chips for snack time and tetra-packed fruit juice to go with the meal. A person easily consumes this much in a day in Indian metropolises. But the plastic cups and wrappers take thousands of years to break down in a landfillthat is if they reach a landfill; most remain in the environment, clogging the soil and releasing polluting synthetic molecules.

In Court

More trouble for mining barons: The Union environment ministry has told the Supreme Court it is of the view that a survey should be done to measure the mine lease area of the Obulapuram Mining Company owned by Karnataka ministers, G Janardhana Reddy and G Karunakara Reddy. The ministry, in its affidavit, said the survey ought to be done by an independent central organization like the Forest Survey of India. The move comes a fortnight after the Supreme Courts Central Empowered Committee said the company was carrying out illegal mining operations on the Andhra Pradesh-Karnataka border.

Science and Technology - Briefs

technology The radio reports

Science

PLANT SCIENCES Never too late Flowers are more resilient than they appear. They shoot up against all odds. The credit goes to genetic matter called microRNA that inhibit protein formation crucial to flowering in

News Snippets

>> TV movie distributers in the US have reduced plastic content in their DVD cases, making it 20 per cent lighter.Though reducing plastic waste is being cited as a motivator, thinner cases are also less expensive when it comes to the cost of raw material and shipping. Companies like Sony Entertainment, Walt Disney and Warner are spearheading the initiative >> Radio Erena ("Our Eritrea"), a Tigrinya-language station broadcasting by satellite to Eritrea, has begun

Plastic ponds

A farm development scheme hurts farmers, favours industry The Centre recently came up with a new-fangled scheme for Maharashtra's drought-prone areas. The solution to increase water availability for irrigation was found in an industrial product.

Green shopping

Supermarkets in Sri Lanka pitch in to eradicate plastic menace

Polythene banned

Delhi takes stringent steps the Delhi High Court has asked the state government to ban the use of plastic bags in all shopping centres and to come up with a notification in this regard.

Plastic digester for better biogas production

biogas plants don't function well when ambient temperatures are low and hence remain out of use for greater part of the year, in the hills for example. The plants are most efficient when the temperature of slurry--mixture of organic materials such as cow dung or plant waste--is 35-40C. Scientists have found that using plastic helps attain the desired temperature even when the surrounding temperature is low.