Many villages in the districts of Mangalore and Udupi have taken the lead in minimising the use of plastic. An impressed Ronald Anil Fernandes reports. Perhaps it's difficult to imagine life without plastics. In fact, plastics have become synonymous with modern life. However, one of the biggest challenges with plastic waste is that it is extremely hard to dispose off and persists in the environment for hundreds of years when it is not disposed off properly. Plastics can be classified into two groups