Plastics, a boon at first; now a curse
- Hueiyen Lanpao Editorial :: June 11 2011 -
Rag pickers sorting out plastic items for resale - Picture by Hueiyen News Service
Widespread use of plastics was in practice in the western world by the mid 1970s. It had replaced the use of paper and a whole lot of items for domestic use. The rationale provided then was that recycling of paper could not produce enough paper commensurate with the ever rising demand.
Tinkering with the molecular structure of polymers yielded fantastic results. At the bottom of the chain, plastic had replaced paper bags.
But this was just the beginning. Household items like kitchenware, furniture, buckets, mugs, plates, kitchen spoons, door mats and even draperies had all been turned into plastic wares. These are just to name a few. And when mass produced plastic turned out to be a cheap product.
In India the age of plastic took longer to pervade into domestic households. This comparatively slow start was soon made up and India is now is in the dubious company of countries having the highest percentage of plastic pollution.
In terms of percentage of the manifold use of plastic, it could well be that India's percentage is comparable to what it is in the western countries. However, again in comparison, the percentage of the inimical effects of plastic pollution India towers above the western world.
Why? Because of a few simple reasons, the lack of awareness of the ill effects of plastic pollution, the lack of necessary infrastructure to break down the polymers in plastic wastes and the lack of political will to tackle with this potentially dangerous problem.
In Manipur the use of plastic has been centred on its utility in household activity. For one thing the plastic carry on bag is much more durable with the advantage of multiple re-uses than the once available soggy paper bags.
Plastic mugs and buckets are less likely to become misshapen with daily and continued use. And in this cash strapped society anything durable is the better choice. What we are fearfully ignorant of is the terrible impact untended plastic can have on the environment.
Plastic is not naturally degradable within a short period of time and if we continue to dump our plastic waste in drains, creeks, rivers or even in ponds it could choke marine life, hamper the natural decay of other bio-degradable wastes, make water unfit for use, and because it chokes the water ways create a breeding ground for harmful bacteria.
So great is our ignorance that we do not realize that burning plastic should be avoided at all costs, the process releases toxic fumes which more often than not affect our cell structure, maybe causing mutations and develop ailments for which modern medi-care does not have a remedy. It is shocking to see parents burning plastic waste with their children standing along side, or worse still, asking the kids to collect plastic trash and to burn them.
It seems the best solution to remove our ignorance of the potentially harmful effect plastic poses, can only come about with a prolonged and widely publicized mass awareness programme. In this effort, the role of the NGOs and women bodies will be crucial.
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