Don’t Advertise Your Stupidity

Plastic doesn’t vanish away when you throw them into the environment

A week ago, I got a phone call from one of my senior brothers. He recently got a government job in a very high position. So he wanted to celebrate it with all of his close ones. He told me that he wanted to visit Kaptai Lake, the largest lake in the country, and would be happy if I could join. I said, ok, count me in.

On the next Thursday evening, I got my backpack ready and joined them at Biman Bandar Railway Station for a night-long journey to Chittagong. Then we would go from Chittagong to Kaptai, Rangamati, a two-hour distance, by bus. We decided to travel the long journey by train as it is more enjoyable than a bus.

We were ten in numbers; most of them are senior bankers and a few govt officials. They all (except me) are married and have school-going children. I traveled with them many a time. We are always a good team. When we are together, we forget our age differences and enjoy the time with fun and laughter. This time, no difference.

We hardly had any sleep that night — it was a happy journey where we made jokes of one another and laughed our hearts out. When we reached our destination, no doubt we were all quite tired.

We reached Rangamati around eleven in the morning. We had our breakfast and a little sightseeing. When we travel together, we never follow any particular plan. We visit places and go with the flow.

Anyway, it was a wonderful sunny day with a gentle breeze, and as we were tired, we wanted to have some rest at our hotel. In the meantime, we talked to a boatman who will take us on a three-hour ride after lunch.

Our hotel had an incredible view of the Karnafuli River and Kaptai Lake. We rested for a few hours, had our lunch at a local restaurant, and then headed towards the boat to explore the beautiful lake till evening.

One of our tourmates bought a few packets of chips, biscuits, water bottles, and soft drinks for the afternoon snacks.

The lake is enormous, and there is a bloody history behind it. This man-made lake put thousands of people in misery. But let’s not talk about that in this article. Maybe, another day.

I loved the vast water and a few island-like localities in it. There were other boats like us — filled with young boys and girls enjoying the moment. And as an obvious gesture, they were throwing their plastic water-bottles, soft-drinks, and chips packets directly into the water. I got irritated seeing their stupidity.

I have seen the last month while visiting the Sundarbans, the largest mangrove forest in the world. I witnessed people, especially the young ones, were unmindfully throwing plastics into rivers and canals adjacent to the Sundarbans. They were also creating sound pollution with giant speakers and microphones kept in their boats.

First, we visited two small island-like areas and saw two ancient Bihars (abodes) where more than fifty monkeys and a few birds coexisting peacefully.

Then again, we were on the water. Our boat was heading to explore more of what lies on this vast water-world. And at that time, one of our tourmates opened a packet of chips.

When I saw him opening the chips-packet, the first thing I said was not to throw the packet into the water. I told him to keep it inside the boat to put it into a dust-bin later. He looked at me and nodded.

In our country, this single thing, plastic pollution, hurts me the most. Yes, we have many problems that need more attention than this. But whenever I visit a place, I see plastics everywhere — it’s on the street, on the water body, in the field, and more. And it represents how unmindful and careless we are as a nation.

If I am in a place where there is no particular bin/space to keep the plastic waste, I keep it in my pocket or bag. Is that a tough thing for others to do? I hope not. It costs nothing. But it saves the environment from your stupidity and keeps the place clean and beautiful for you and others.

Four of us were on the roof of the boat. Others were inside, gossiping, laughing, and making fun of each other and, of course, enjoying the gentle breeze, the vast water, and the seagulls behind flying around.

The man with the chips-packet was a few yards ahead of me. He was in his forties — a bald senior govt official with a delicate sunglass was munching and crushing the potato-chips with his jaws and enjoying the lake.

I was half-laid on the boat-roof, stooping towards the water, trying to fathom the depth of it in my mind. The boat was heading with a moderate speed, cutting the water in front of it with delicacy. One of us was singing a folk song and making music with his bare hand striking on the roof. I was listening to it and, at the same time, enjoying the lake, gazing my eyes on the water.

Suddenly, a floating chips-packet caught my eyes. I looked at the man who was having chips in front of me. He was clapping to clean the chips-dust from his hands. I got really irritated. I asked why he threw the chips packet into the water.

That educated man — a senior govt employee with more than fifteen years of service, a father of one school-going kid, a husband, a man with honesty and good humor — told me casually, Where should I keep it? Don’t you see other plastics are already there in the water? It’s not a big deal.

His reply shocked me. And I couldn’t resist myself. I said, If an educated man like you do this, what will other people do? People like you are destroying every tourist place in this country. They eat and poop on the same spot.

We were ten in numbers — but I know that most of us lack common sense when it comes to using plastics. It’s true for the majority of my people. And I reckon it’s also true for most people all across the globe.

After using, we just throw the plastics into the environment and pretend that it’s not a big deal — no problem at all. But this careless mentality has already created big problems.

The tiny plastic bag, chips-packet, bottles, one-time cups, and other plastic products you throw into the environment and think that you’ve done nothing wrong have already destroyed our environment. And it is coming back to you soon to ruin your and your children’s future.

In 2019, while visiting a lovely beach at Fort Kochi, I saw dolphins and plastics floating together. I witnessed more plastics and fewer fish found in the fishermen’s nets. No doubt, we are digging our own graves.

A study by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation reveals that each year, at least 8 million tonnes of plastics leak into the ocean. And if it continues, then the oceans are expected to contain 01 ton of plastic for every 03 tonnes of fish by 2025, and by 2050, more plastics than fish (by weight).

Another study says that an average person eats 70,000 microplastics each year.

It’s a shocking fact that today, we produce about 300 million tonnes of plastics waste every year. That’s nearly equivalent to the weight of the entire human population.

It’s all happening because people like you and me don’t have commonsense. We advertise our stupidity by throwing plastic-wastes directly into the environment and think it’s not a big deal.

But, it is a huge deal. It’s a matter of life and death.

All I ask from you is to have some common sense while throwing plastic-waste away. Be a mindful person and keep your surroundings plastics-free.

Don’t throw plastics into the environment. Don’t advertise your stupidity.

Thank you for reading.

Read the following articles about the environment and wildlife and take action to save the planet.

Mike Alexander * Are We Greenwashing Ourselves? * I Saved Three Turtles and a Dolphin Yesterday * Spare a Thought for the Ordinary

S M Mamunur Rahman * Add ‘Environment’ to Your New Year’s Resolution * An Average Person Eats 70,000 Microplastics Each Year * The School of Nature