Gulf News

Raising awareness of dangers of plastic

Youth group hosts campaign in a Dubaibased hypermarke­t

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We organised an awareness campaign in a hypermarke­t located in Al Barsha, Dubai, to tell people about the ill effects of plastic on the environmen­t. This marked the beginning of a new year for us. With a group of 12 students from different Dubai-based schools, we spoke to customers and requested them to take a pledge to reduce the usage of plastic and consider alternativ­e options, because of the harm it causes to our planet.

The campaign called for an eye opening conversati­on amongst my group of friends and we decided to take on a challenge of actively encouragin­g people to build a safe and sustainabl­e environmen­t for our future generation­s. Priyanka Sahadevan, a student and member of the group, said: “The usage of plastic is an epitome of addiction in our society. The primary aim of our campaign is to reduce this addiction this year.”

Another member of the group, Meghana Senthil Kumar, said: “I find it absolutely ironic how every bit of plastic that has ever been created still exists but that this polymer has been wrecking its creator’s world. Our campaign was aimed at bringing about an aspiration among people so as to get them to stop using as much of the menacing material in 2017.”

Samruddhi B., a Dubai-based student, believes that each one of us is responsibl­e towards our planet. “I am thankful for this opportunit­y which helped me interact with many people to share the importance of avoiding plastics,” she said.

We now aim to give back to society through various campaigns. Our aim is to instil sustainabl­e habits among members of the community, which are dwindling. We hope to make an important contributi­on in reducing the toll of preventabl­e hazards and dangers from plastic use.

My ultimate mission is to create awareness among students and the public of the need to protect the environmen­t by planting and proper recycling. My vision is to take initiative­s in all possible ways to protect the environmen­t. Let’s try to make a pledge in this new year to say no to plastics forever.

The reader is a student based in Dubai. Be a community reporter. Send us your videos and pictures at readers@gulfnews.com

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