The Pakistani Spectator

The plastic bag is an icon of convenience culture, by some estimates the single most ubiquitous consumer item on Earth, numbering in the trillions. Everyone knows how big the plastic bag problem is. Plastic bags don’t biodegrade. Instead, they photo-degrade, breaking down into smaller and smaller toxic bits that clogging up our land, our drains, our rivers, our seas and enter the food web when animals accidentally ingest them.

Only 1 percent of plastic bags are recycled worldwide and the rest, when discarded, can persist for centuries. They’re so aerodynamic that even when they’re properly disposed of in a trash can, they can still blow away and become litter. It’s as litter that plastic bags have the most baleful effect.

According to different studies, more than a million birds, marine mammals and sea turtles dies every year from eating plastic. According to the United Nations Environment Programme, there are 46,000 pieces of plastic litter floating in every square mile of ocean. Plastic bags are considered especially dangerous to sea turtles, who mistake them for jellyfish, a main food source. Currently, 86% of all known species of sea turtles have had reported problems of entanglement or ingestion of marine debris. Furthermore, plastics’ production–made from highly-refined petroleum–is environmentally degrading and significantly contributes to greenhouse gases.

This year, China government has forbidden all the shops for offering free plastic bags. Meanwhile, super-thin bags have been banned. Consumers are being asked to “go back to” using cloth bags and baskets. China Trade News estimates that the country of 1.3 billion people must refine 5 million tons, or 37 million barrels, of crude oil every year to meet demand for plastic bags, which are used at a rate of 3 billion bags every day. The fact that the biggest country in the world, the biggest users of plastic bags, are moving to ban them … is extremely important, because if it can be done in China it can be done in any country in the world.

In Pakistan, 47 percent of solid waste remains uncollected in the country and that the mixing of polythene bags with human, animal and industrial residues worsens the problem. Although, Pakistan Environment Protection Agency (Pak-EPA) has banned use of black polythene bags but it is not sufficient to save the environment. We need a mass awareness campaign and cooperation of the people to control the use of polythene bags.

The problem with plastic bags isn’t just where they end up; it’s that they never seem to end. All the plastic that has been made is still around in smaller and smaller pieces. Plastic doesn’t biodegrade. That means unless they’ve been incinerated — a noxious proposition — every plastic bag you’ve ever used in your entire life will exist long after you’re dead.

It is imperative that the Pakistan government focus on developing alternatives, and use a multi-pronged approach with the involvement of all stakeholders. Above all, we as a whole take the responsibility to restrict or ban the use of polythene bags and apply the three R’s,

Reduce the amount of waste you produce.
Reuse old items; donate to the unfortunate, repair if broken.
Recycle as much as possible; buy recycled products to support recycling.

Presently, canvas bags are the best substitute of plastic bags and can be use more than 500 times during their life cycle.

Happy Shopping…!

Last 5 posts by Saleem Khan

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