As we observe the ‘World Environment Day’ today it is the day to reiterate our commitment towards the conservation of the ecosystems with full emphasis on sustainable development. While the theme of last year’s World Environment Day was ‘Only One Earth’, this year’s theme has been aptly chosen as ‘Solution to Plastic Pollution’ and the event this time is hosted by Côte d’Ivoire and supported by the Netherlands and the theme will focus on solutions to plastic pollution under the campaign #BeatPlasticPollution. It is a reminder that people’s actions on plastic pollution matters a lot. The steps governments and businesses are taking to tackle plastic pollution are the consequence of this action. It is pertinent to mention here that the theme selected on the first World Environment Day 50 years ago was also ‘Only One Earth’. Today, five decades later, it still stands true as the Earth is still our only home, and humanity must safeguard its finite resources. The World Environment Day 2023 global campaign uses the theme ‘#BeatPlasticPollution’ to call for transformative changes to policies and choices to enable cleaner, greener, and sustainable living in harmony with nature for which it is inevitable to deal with plastic solution quite seriously as it is one of the most hazardous sources of pollution as of today. Despite the global campaign to do away with plastics there has not been enough progress to strike a dent in the growing tonnage of discarded plastic that finally finds its way into the seas and oceans. It is expected that in the next 10 years, the waste that slides into waterways, and ultimately the oceans, will reach millions of tons a year which is a highly alarming situation. The scenario in India too is no good with statistics revealing that the nation generates about 5 million metric tonnes of plastic waste in a year and the upward graph continues despite the national campaign against use of plastic. While various types of plastic are in vogue in India, the most hazardous one is the Single Use Plastic (SUP). SUP is so cheap and convenient that it has replaced all other materials from the packaging industry. However, its most negative effect is that it takes hundreds of years to disintegrate thus being highly detrimental to the environmental health on this planet. The statistics further reveal that of all the plastic waste produced in the world, 79% enters the environment while only a paltry 9% of all plastic waste gets recycled. While plastic waste could be significantly reduced, though not eliminated by using existing technologies, the best solution is to substitute plastic with other materials that are easily biodegradable like ‘Compostable Plastic’ which some StartUps have started manufacturing in India with the Govt’s financial support to such unit. It is pertinent to mention here that this Compostable plastic can prove to be a game changer as it will replace the Single Use Plastics (SUP) once for all. It would not be out of context to mention here that Compostable Plastic is plastic-like material which is easily biodegradable and gets converted into compost in the soil. Moreover, the production cost of compostable plastic is much lower as compared to other bioplastics available currently in the market and after being used, the material breaks down into natural substances without having any adverse impact on the environment. Moreover there are long-lasting plastic alternatives available right now in the form of stainless steel, glass, platinum silicone, bamboo, pottery and ceramics, etc. These are in addition to the bioplastics that can be used to replace traditional plastics. However the ‘Compostable Plastic’ seems to be the best alternative as it is highly cost effective with its production cost being as low as Rs. 180 per kg. So, on this ‘World Environment Day’ focussing on the theme ‘#BeatPlasticPollution’ let’s start creating massive awareness at the local, regional and global levels about the dire need to bid farewell to plastics and shift to other non-polluting alternatives available in the markets.