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Plastic as a source of environmental pollution what is

the solution?
Dr.Kedar Karki
Background:
Plastics are synthetic substances produced by chemical reactions. Almost all
plastics are made from petroleum, except a few experimental resins derived
from corn and other organic substances.

"Plastics" derived their name from their properties to be molded, cast,


extruded or processed into a variety of forms, including solid objects, films and
filaments. These properties arise from their molecular structure. Plastics are
polymers, very long chain molecules that consist of subunits (monomers) linked
together by chemical bonds. The monomers of petrochemical plastics are
inorganic materials (such as styrene) and are not biodegradable.

Plastic has many properties which has made it a raw material of choice for
Manufactures of plastic Bags and packing materials. Cost of production, light
weight, strength, easy process of manufacture, and availability are few of the
properties. There is nothing wrong with plastic as a material. Man has simply
not put the plastic to the right use/ or using it without taking proper care of
other related norms of usage.

PLASTIC AS PACKING MATERIAL:

Plastic has replaced the traditional material (paper/cloth etc) as packing and
carry bags because of cost and convenience which is possibly a wrong choice of
material for such use. Even though plastic bags can preserve food and can be
used for growing vegetables in a controlled environment, their method of
disposal has creates unprecedented pollution problem.

Plastic has many more uses other than Plastic Bags and Packing material. It is
used for manufacturing of protective covers and parts for many machines,
which should be the preferred utility for plastic.

SHOPPING CULTURE IN EARLIER DAYS:


Before the advent of poly-bags, people did shop, buy things, bring eatables
from the market, and did the same marketing as is done now. How did they do
it? The raw material for the bag was decided by its usage. Cloth bags for lighter
items, Gunny bags/Jute bags for voluminous and heavier goods. The cost did
not justify use and discard attitude. These bags were washable and reusable
lasting for six months to a year.

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Plastic and its Environmental Hazards:

The hazards plastics pose are numerous. The land gets littered by plastic bag
garbage presenting an ugly and unhygienic seen. The "Throw away culture"
results in these bags finding their way in to the city drainage system, the
resulting blockage cases inconvenience, difficult in maintaining the drainage
with increased cost, creates unhygienic environment resulting in health hazard
and spreading of water borne diseases. This littering also reduces rate of rain
water percolating, resulting in lowering of already low water levels in our
cities. The soil fertility deteriorates as the plastic bags form part of manure
remains in the soil for years.

It has been observed that the animals eating the bags sometimes die. Plastic
goes into the ocean which is already a plastic infested body of water. Fish and
other marine species in the water ways, misunderstanding plastic garbage as
food items swallow them and die.

SHOULD PLASTIC BE TOTALLY BANNED?

Many household utility items like needle, scissors, and blades can heart if not
handled properly. Children need to be trained in their proper handling. These
utility items are not banned. But because of throw away culture and no
objection from passer by, the advice on sensible disposal of plastic bags are not
heeded by general public forcing the government to consider banning of plastic
bags all together.

"Should plastic carry bags and bottles be banned in totality?" - is a heated issue
today. World annual average is a alarming 18 kg. But too many do it as our
cities have huge population. The country yet to take a serious view of the issue
and have a uniform nation-wide law for indiscreet disposals of plastic bags.
People should be educated on the proper ways of plastic bag usage and the
disposal. The teaching should start right from the primary schools. Plastic is an
eco-friendly material. The real problem is littering, some claim. But there is
hardly anybody who agrees with such viewpoint.
Thinking rationally, the whole idea of educating people about plastic bags,
although very ambitious, and it is as difficult as banning smoking The
conventional older and tested alternatives offers an easy, if not fully equitable
and practical solution.
And all the hype that poly-bags pollute is not totally false. It is not that poly-
bags are responsible for the ills, of course not, it is the humans. It is ignorance
(or who cares attitude). We have not banned sewing needles they pierce
through the skin. It's a stupid idea. Whether it is the common citizen, the
government official or the hard-hit plastic bag manufacturer, all of them agree
on one point - firm steps are required to be taken against littering of plastic
bags and bottles all around.

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THE GLOBAL DIMENSION:

More than a 100 million tonnes of plastic is produced world-wide each year.
Though plastics have opened the way for a plethora of new inventions and
devices it has also ended up clogging the drains and becoming a health hazard.
Many countries, including India, are trying to increase the amount of plastic
that is recycled. But commercial interests create hindrance for effective
legislation to remove plastics from goods where they can threaten public
health. Also there is a clear trend of shipping off the plastic waste of
developed countries to under developed and developing countries.
FUTURE ALTERNATIVE - ECO-FRIENDLY PLASTICS:

However newer technology is also being developed in this regard. This entails
the use of DEGRADABLE PLASTICS. The principal is to incorporate into the
plastic some chemical that is photodegradable/biodegradable or chemically
treatable.

By adding starch, biodegradable plastics are generally made. On burial such


plastics are attacked by bacteria feeding on starch, which breaks these down
into tiny particles that disappear harmlessly into the soil. Some common
examples of biodegradable plastics are the use of "non-removable" suture
materials in surgery or capsules for drugs, which dissolve slowly in body fluids.

Chemically degradable plastics can be broken up by spraying them with a


solution that causes them to dissolve. For example such material can be used
as a protective wax covering for new cars that wash off at the dealer's garage
by a specially formulated spray. This spray reacts with one of the components
of the plastic and causes it to dissolve into harmless materials which can be
flushed down the drain.

Photo-degradable plastics contain chemicals that slowly disintegrate when


exposed to light. In France, strips of photo-degradable plastic about 3 ft (1mtr)
wide are used to retain heat in the soil and produce early crops. They last for
about 1 to 3 years before rotting into the soil. But they have to be used in
places with consistent amount of sunshine so that they decay at a predictable
rate. In the USA, about one quarter of the plastic yokes that link beer cans in a
six pack are made of plastic called Ecolyte, which is photo-degradable. But to
stop them decaying too early, they must be stored away from direct sunlight,
which can be of some inconvenience to the retailer.

However degradable plastic can have a few other problems. For example, it
cannot be recycled because there is no easy way to measure its remaining life
span. The biggest drawback is the cost of its production. Japanese scientists
however claim that they will soon be able to produce much cheaper
multipurpose biodegradable plastic. In order to obviate the disposal problems
and to prevent

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Environmental pollution caused by routinely used polythene packaging
materials; it would be prudent, for the present, to use eco-friendly paper
packaging. The manufacturers of plastic packaging like soft drink
bottles/mineral water bottles etc must come forward and develop appropriate
methods of disposal/own responsibility for disposal.

Plastic bags are so light and strong that they can carry normal weight, cheap
and is used in all types of shops in our daily life. For example: bakeries,
medical shops, grocery stores, hotels, etc. People are so accustomed to it, that
they find it very difficult to part with it. Plastic bags have made it possible for
people to go without bags to market or work place as these bags are availably
for asking and can be thrown without a second thought.

People who go on picnics, visiting historic places, hill stations etc., to enjoy
their holidays or just for a change carry with them eatables in containers,
plastic bags, mineral water bottles (plastic), plastic plates and plastic cups and
generally leave it in the open air after consuming the contents. One can find
this in tourist centres scattered all over. Road-side vendors also use plastic cups
to serve coffee or tea. The customers throw these cups on foot paths or near
drains after consuming the contents.

These plastic materials are so light that they are carried away by the speed of
the moving vehicle, wind etc., scattered all over, making the surroundings look
ugly. There are instances wherein these materials have clogged the
underground drains. People are in the habit of throwing things they don't need
wherever they like irrespective of the final result. People should be specially
educated regarding the use of plastic in our daily life, as it is environment
unfriendly. Boys and girls, men and women with bags on their backs and a stick
in one hand walking long distances, picking up plastic waste, paper, bottles
etc., from dust bins, road sides, is a common sight in our cities. These rag
pickers sell the waste collected, to the collection centre to earn their
livelihood. These materials are recycled.

The waste materials collected are of all types including plastic materials, such
as plastic bags, plastic cups, plastic bottles etc. Instead of carrying these
wastes away, they are burnt on the road side polluting the area with thick
smoke which produce toxic gases (because of burning of plastic material)
posing a health hazard. Inhaling of such gases causes lung diseases and even
cancer. They resort to burning of waste material with the main intention of
reducing the number of trips a lorry has to take. Plastic being non-degradable,
when buried under the ground, arrest the percolation of water into the ground.
Animals grazing in the field consuming this plastic waste along with grass
cannot be ruled out. Now-a-days, in almost all functions, it has become a
practice to use thin plastic sheets to cover the dining tables to give it a good

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look and also so that it is easy to clean the table, as left over can be removed
by rolling the sheet at a stretch. These are thrown near the dust bin.

Besides this, thin plastic cups are also used for drinking water, which also finds
a place in the dust bin. One can find near the dust bin, waiting slum children,
crows, stray cows, dogs to share the leftovers. In this process, they fight
amongst themselves and stray cows in majority of cases have consumed thin
plastic sheets along with left over, leading to untold sufferings and also found
dead on many occasions. It is therefore, suggested that a ban be placed on the
use of plastic sheets, plastic cups, along with plastic bags. Plastic industries
manufacturing plastic bags (below 20 microns) thin sheets, thin cups and thin
bottles, should be informed about its ill-effects on the environment and
advised not to manufacture such items. If the industry is located in a
residential area, action should be taken to shift it immediately. The factory
management should take all measures to control the pollution created, within
the stipulated norms.

THE SOLUTION.

The solution lies in finding out:

1. Alternative suitable for making Bags and packing material at competitive


rate and convenience without having any negative aspect.

2. Reaserch&Develpoment to make plastic more environments friendly.


3. Educate users to the right disposal methods.

4. Reduce the no of users by reducing the population in the long run.

5. Process vegetable, etc to higher density so as to reduce the no of bags


required to pack and carry.

6. Encourage reusable bags from traditional materials by suitable


advertisements to make it fashionable.

7. Cost of mfg bags with traditional material can be subsidized by printing


advertisement on the bags.

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