Plastic bags

Plastic shopping bags, carrier bags, or plastic grocery bags are a type of shopping bags made from various kinds of plastic. They are in use by consumers worldwide since the 1960s. They are often made of polythene. These bags are sometimes called single-use bags, referring to carrying items from a store to a home. However, reuse for storage or trash is common, and modern plastic shopping bags are increasingly recyclable or biodegradable. These polythene bags are not only dangerous for health but they also emit hazardous effects in the environment.

According to a survey as many as 12 million plastic bags were used in Pakistan in 1990 to 1991 and this use rose to 43 billion in 2005 and in 2007 up to 55 billion. According to a research, a substandard plastic bag takes hundreds of years to get decomposed and as long as it remains in the environment it causes hazardous impact on our daily routine and also on the environment. As plastic bags are an important means for carrying goods and different items, the quality of plastic bags can be improved through using less toxic elements and addition of D2W ( an Oxo-biodegradable bag) in order to reduce the hazardous effects of plastic bags on environment and human lives.

Moreover the production of plastic bags is carried out at massive levels in Pakistan which has a very devastating effect on not only on human lives but also on climate because they emit carbon dioxide and various polluted chemicals in the environment on dumping. The bags are also known to be dangerous to animals which might ingest them accidentally They fly in the dusty air, block the gutters and cause them to overflow. About 80 percent of total litter is estimated to be plastic bags and above 80 percent of drain blockages takes place because of plastic bags. Burning of plastic bags adds more pollution to the air around in the form of dioxins and furans. Plastic bags are also a home for mosquitoes where they breed and later on cause malaria and dengue. The material used in the manufacturing of plastic bags i.e., chromium and copper causes allergies. Many people who are in plastic bags business are at risk to have many diseases.

The plastic bag ban regulation was drafted by the Pakistan Environmental Protection Agency. The ban will start from Islamabad, but Pak-EPA is trying to get it approved at the provincial level as well. The Climate Change Ministry has also approached the representatives of the Plastic Bag Manufacturers Association of Pakistan and office bearers of the Karachi and Lahore Chambers of Commerce to draw their support for a national ban on the use and sale of regular plastic bags. The Pak-EPA will launch a “Say NO to plastic bags” campaign to raise awareness about the ban in Islamabad. The campaign will include telling shopkeepers to place orders for biodegradable plastic bags instead of polythene bags. According to the survey there are only two manufacturers of biodegradable bags in the twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi (biodegradable bags are capable of being decomposed by bacteria or other living organisms). One is in Rawalpindi and another is in Islamabad being run by an NGO. In almost 50 countries, the biodegradable bags have already replaced the plastic bags, but in Pakistan and India its usage is very rare. We need to campaign for the biodegradable bags so we can reduce toxicity in the environment.

The supporters of biodegradable technology say that the tests conducted by America’s Food and Drug Administration show that the additive is safe to use with edible products. Greener bags have short span of time and decompose easily. They affect neither the land’s fertility nor cause pollution on land or sea, in the light or dark, in heat or cold, in whatever timescale is required, leaving no fragments, no methane and no harmful residues and help to preserve the environment.

HUMNA RASOOL AND ANUM SHAFQAT

Islamabad