A fun skit highlighting the environmental impact of plastic bags. Join Riya as she spreads awareness about the importance of going green.
Skit made by Anuprita Misra and Oliviya Tanweer
Scene: Riya’s mother calls her.
Mother: Riya! Come here.
Riya: Yes! I am coming.
(She comes into the kitchen)
Mother: Dear, can you run and get me potatoes and carrot from the nearby grocery store?
Riya: Ok, mother. (she said with a sigh.)
Scene: She goes to the grocery store.
Riya: Uncle, can you give me potatoes and carrots?
Shop keeper: Sure! I can!
Riya receives the items from the shopkeeper.
Riya: Don’t you have a cloth bag? Plastic bags pollute heavily, so I am against them.
Shop keeper: No, we don’t, we only use plastic bags because they are cheaper.
Riya: But they cause harm to our environment.
Shop keeper: See, miss, I tell people to bring their own bag from home if they don’t want a plastic one.
Riya: And what do they tell you?
Shop keeper: They say that they don’t want it but after that, I try to explain it to them, but they don’t
seem to understand! I prefer not to create any trouble because it is bad for business and often customers leave me.
Riya: Oh, I see.
Shop keeper: you are interested in making our surrounding clean so why don’t you bring a bag from the
next time?
Riya: no need for that. I will bring a cloth bag from my home now only.
(She walked home with a speed to get the cloth bag)
Scene: Riya sees a boy with a plastic bag throwing in the river.
Riya: Hey! Stop throwing that plastic.
Boy: (He turned around as he got startled and the plastic slipped out of his hand) Hey you scared
me!
Riya: Hey-were you throwing the plastic in the river?
Boy: What is your problem with me?
Riya: I don’t have any problem with you boy, I have a problem with you throwing the plastic.
Boy: By the way, my name is Arjun, not Boy.
Riya: Don’t throw the plastic bags in the river. They pollute the rivers and make it harmful for us to use.
(she said this as she got angry)
Boy: it’s none of your business (telling this he left)
(Riya then went home)
Scene: Riya goes to her home, and her mother sees her empty handed
Mother: where are the vegetable, Riya?
Riya: mother I came here to take my cloth bag.
Mother: But why?
I’m against using plastic bags.
Taking the plastic bag would have saved you the trip.
Riya: I came here because I really don’t want the environment polluted!
No one understands the importance in our environment, she thought angrily as she left the house.
Scene: She reaches the shop after a long walk
Riya: Uncle, please give me the vegetables. (with handing her cloth bag to the Shop keeper)
Shop keeper: Sure! Take it!
Riya: thank you very much and please tell your customers not to use plastic bags.
Shop keeper: I will try my best for you.
Riya: Ok! Bye now!
(She went home from there)
Scene: She went home and gave the mother the vegetables
Riya: Here mother, take the vegetables.
Mother: Thank you, my dear!
(Riya then went up to her room.
Riya: Finally, I can rest here for a while.
She found a magazine article titled “How to clean your surroundings” and sat up straight.
Mother: oh wow! But what is the plan?
Riya: mother sees we have two dustbins in our homes. One is biodegradable, the other isn’t, let’s buy big dustbins with gigantic signs and put it in our neighborhood.
Mother: Not everyone will use separate dustbins for throwing garbage.
If they won’t, I’ll go to each neighbor’s house and explain why we should throw.
Mother: Go as you like
Riya: Mother, let’s set the dustbins tomorrow early in the morning, before anyone comes to throw litter on the already dirty streets!
Mother: Ok, but we need to get the dustbins by this evening!
Riya: Yes! I totally forgot about that! Let’s go today at 5pm.
Mother: Ok!
Scene: Riya and her mother are getting ready to go outside.
Riya: Let’s go mother.
Mother: yeah! Let’s go.
(They got home after buying dustbins of different colors)
Riya: I’m so tired now,
Mother: I am also super tired.
Scene: Riya and her mother get up early in the morning and set the dustbins in their
neighborhood.
Riya: Ah! Finally, it is done.
Scene: After two days, she saw no one is throwing the plastics in different dustbins.
Riya: Mother, I will start a campaign in the public park with my friends.
Mother thinks it’s a good idea, but it will require a significant time investment.
Riya: Whatever it takes, I will do it.
(she prepares for the campaign and calls her friends too to help her)
Scene: She and friends go to the public park and announce their project idea
Riya: We are deciding something. Everyone present here may express what they feel about it.
Raj: We have formed a group to collect and segregate the litter on the streets. Anyone willing may line up here and sign their names.
Also, you can make banners and poster to warn others of the dangers of single use plastic.
( About 10 people line up, others look disgusted)
Riya is a little disappointed
But she has faith and calls her friends
Next day: On Saturday
Riya: Mother- where are you? I want ribbon and tape for the banner. Do you have any?
Mother: Yes, here.(hands ribbon) How is your campaign going on?
Riya: Oh, well, actually. Me , Raj and 3 other friends of mine make 5 people- also yesterday 10 more people added their names. Raj has collected many posters today. Tomorrow we shall start the collecting of litter.
Mother: Impressive amount of work!
Next day:(Everyone gathers around Riya to hear the plan)
Riya: We can move on to the other streets once we’re done. Our goal is to finish at least half of the neighbourhood, making it litter free, by 2 pm.
One child: What a lot of work!
Another child: Hm-I already feel tired thinking about it!
Raj: Thinking like that prevents accomplishment. Come on !
(They set out together, and work hard till the neighbourhood is almost litter free.)
Random person: Hey! What are you doing messing around, being dirty?
Riya: Uncle, we are cleaning the neighbourhood
Random person: Why, that’s something quite new
(he goes away)
Riya works even harder.
A half hour later
Raj: Oh finally! The job is done! (he sits on the street)
One girl: What are you doing , sitting there?
Raj: Nothing-we have worked hard, remember?
Girl: I guess-reasonable excuse.
Riya: We did it!
Everyone: *cheering*
MONDAY:
Riya and the others troupe around, shower their posters, shouting slogans
*they arrive at a playground with many people of their locality.*
Raj: EVERYONE KINDLY LEND YOUR EARS.
Riya: We are here to discuss the need of reducing single use plastic’s use, as it is very harmful and not everyone knows it.
Many of us show apathy towards the dangers of plastic pollution, littering without regard for the consequences. This pollution has devastating effects on aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. The plastic debris injures and kills wildlife, either from being tangled or through ingestion. As the plastic decomposes, it leaches toxic chemicals that can harm both humans and animals alike.
Another friend of Riya: Instead of plastic bags , you can use ones of durable cloth, like jute. As plastic bags tear easily and have to be replaced by another. After a time, that one tears etc, etc.
Another boy: Did you know-all paper cups have a plastic lining inside of them-so they can hold liquid for long?
Raj: Use traditional earth cups or bring your own cup to avoid this.
EVERYONE together: GO Green to make India clean!
*crowd claps*
Riya gives a satisfied sigh.
Tuesday
Scene: children are going to school
Children: Wow! The road is litter-free!
(Riya being proud of her teammates and her, while watching other children go to school)
(She is walking home, dreaming and thinking of all the hard work she and her friends had done. “I wonder if all of it will pay off,” )
(She is seeing that everyone in the neighbourhood has thrown their garbage in a separate bin and plastic in a separate bin)
Riya sees her work paid off!
STOP plastic-SAVE our Earth.
