The Single Use Plastic Deathbed is an
art installation
Installation art is an artistic genre of three-dimensional works that are often site-specific and designed to transform the perception of a space. Generally, the term is applied to interior spaces, whereas exterior interventions are often cal ...
at Freedom Ghat on the bank of
Ganga river
The Ganges ( ; in India: Ganga, ; in Bangladesh: Padma, ). "The Ganges Basin, known in India as the Ganga and in Bangladesh as the Padma, is an international which goes through India, Bangladesh, Nepal and China." is a trans-boundary riv ...
near
Laxman Jhula in
Rishikesh
Rishikesh, also spelt as Hrishikesh, is a city near Dehradun in the Indian state Uttarakhand. The northern part of Rishikesh is in the Dehradun district while the southern part is in the Tehri Garhwal district. It is situated on the right bank ...
,
Uttarakhand
Uttarakhand (, ), also known as Uttaranchal ( ; List of renamed places in India, the official name until 2007), is a States and union territories of India, state in North India, northern India. The state is bordered by Himachal Pradesh to the n ...
, India. It features three
funeral pyres made from
single use
A disposable (also called disposable product) is a product designed for a single use after which it is recycled or is disposed as solid waste. The term is also sometimes used for products that may last several months (e.g. disposable air filter ...
plastic waste
Plastic pollution is the accumulation of plastic objects and particles (e.g. plastic bottles, bags and microbeads) in the Earth's environment that adversely affects humans, wildlife and their habitat. Plastics that act as pollutants are cate ...
. The installation was opened in December 2020.
History
Climate activist
The climate movement is a global social movement focused on pressuring governments and industry to take action (also called ''climate action'') addressing the causes and impacts of climate change. Citizens and environmental non-profit organizat ...
Aakash Ranison organised six waste cleanup drives in various tourist places in Rishikesh with help of volunteers in September 2020. Some of the collected plastic waste was used to build the installation with support of the
Rishikesh Municipal Corporation
The Rishikesh Municipal Corporation is the civic body that governs the city of Rishikesh in Uttarakhand, India.
Structure
This corporation consists of 40 wards and is headed by a mayor who presides over a deputy mayor and 39 other corporat ...
and local people to create the awareness regarding ill effects of single use plastic.
It was opened on 20 December 2020 on the
International Human Solidarity Day
International Human Solidarity Day (IHSD), observed on December 20, is an international annual unity day of the United Nations and its member states. Its main goal is to recognize the universal value of solidarity by making member states aware ...
.
Installation
There are three funeral pyres measuring 8 feet long, 3 feet wide and 3 feet high.
Each of these pyres is made of 26 kg of single use plastic, equivalent to the average amount of plastic waste generated by one Indian citizen annually. Each pyre contains a different common type of plastic waste:
disposable bottles,
disposable food packages and
plastic container
Plastic containers are containers made exclusively or partially of plastic. Plastic containers are ubiquitous either as single-use or reuseable/durable plastic cups, plastic bottles, plastic bags, foam food containers, Tupperware, plastic tu ...
s respectively. There is a mirror in front of the pyres, placed so that the viewer can see their own reflection while looking at the pyres.
See also
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References
{{commons category, Single Use Plastic Deathbeds
Plastics and the environment
2020 establishments in Uttarakhand
Rishikesh