Danger Bells of the 3 P’s: Plastic, Petroleum, And Pesticides – A Looming Global Crisis with Special Reference to India

Abstract

The intertwined crises of plastic, petroleum, and pesticide pollution now constitute a “triple planetary crisis” affecting climate, health, and food security worldwide (1,2). India, as a rapidly industrializing and densely populated nation, stands at the epicentre of these overlapping threats (1, 3). Plastic production, derived largely from fossil‑fuel feedstocks, contributes to greenhouse‑gas emissions while generating massive waste fluxes, with India emitting nearly 9.3 million tonnes of plastic waste annually (3,4). Concurrently, rising petroleum dependence drives India’s CO₂ emissions upward, now projected to grow by 4.6% in 2024, the highest among major economies (5, 6). In parallel, pesticide use has surged to over 68,000 tonnes per year, with residues detected in staple foods such as rice and pulses, raising concerns about neurodevelopmental, carcinogenic, and chronic disease risks (7, 8). Recent revisions of India’s Plastic Waste Rules (2025), the Single‑Use Plastic (Regulation) Act (2024), and evolving pesticide‑regulatory frameworks indicate policy momentum, but implementation gaps, weak enforcement, and suboptimal integrated pest‑management adoption remain barriers (9,7). This review synthesizes scientific evidence, policy developments, and emerging interventions to mitigate the triple‑P crisis, with implications for environmental public‑health and pharmaceutical‑practice frameworks in India and globally (10, 11).