Southern States - Kerala-Thiruvananthapuram   

Call to check use of plastic carrybags

By Our Staff Reporter

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM Jan. 31. A total ban on plastics was not desirable or practically feasible. However, the use and disposal of plastic carrybags should be stringently regulated, speakers at a seminar on `Plastic Ban' said.

At the seminar organised by Kerala Land Use Board here on Thursday, speakers pointed out that it was the indiscriminate use of plastic carrybags and the careless manner in which they were thrown away that was turning it into a grave environmental hazard.

The prominent environmental activist and scientist, R.V.G. Menon, said that it was the responsibility of the scientific community to give a solution to the public on the safe disposal of plastic carrybags.

Recycling was not a technically or economically viable solution for plastic disposal because the process required huge quantities of water.

A total ban on plastics was not what was required, but the use of carrybags should be regulated strictly, with stringent punishment to those disposing it of carelessly, he said.

Dr. Menon pointed out that the benefits of science and technology can be enjoyed only if one adhered to the discipline it demanded. In developed nations, there are a lot many civic regulations that are an integral part of common man's daily life. However, reducing the use of plastic or segregating plastic waste at source to prevent it from being mixed with biodegradable wastes were civic responsibilities that people willingly ignored.

He said that plastic carrybags, made of poly ethylene or poly propylene produced only carbon monoxide and water when burnt and should not normally be harmful. Burning firewood would also produce carbon monoxide.

However, manufacturers of plastic carrybags should reveal the nature of the other constituents added in its making, like plasticizers and colouring agents, which could be dangerous, he said.

Speakers also pointed out that people should be encouraged to segregate waste at source, so that plastic carrybags did not find its way to the garbage bins.

The civic authorities should impose this as a regulation and implement it strictly, it was said. Disposal bins should be provided at all possible locations, like inside trains, railway and bus stations.

E. J. Vijayadas, environmental engineer, Pollution Control Board, said that incinerators or landfills were not the ultimate solutions, for plastic disposal. As recycling was not an easy process, reduction and re-use of plastic carrybags was the only option.

The `landfills' here were just open dumping yards and not scientifically designed and with the State's high density of population, this could not be a solution, B. G. Sreedevi, of NATPAC, said.

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