More and more people around the world are becoming aware of the environmental hazards, surrounding plastic bags. Considering their somewhat placid appearance, the impact of plastic bags on the environment can be devastating. Plastics are not biodegradable material. Instead, they break up into smaller pieces of plastic until eventually becoming plastic dust. They are dangerous for small children who may wear them over their head and suffocate. Animals that eat them may become sick or even die. Discarded plastic bags blow around with the wind and litter.
They may end up at sea through garbage dumps at seaside. Plastic degradation at sea takes between 45-1000 years. Plastic bags are recyclable but people need to reuse them or donate them to thrift stores where they can be reused. It takes oil to produce them and even more oil to recycle them. Burning plastics results in toxic ash.
Reusing plastic water bottles can be risky as they have been proven to release harmful chemicals, especially when heated. Bottled water is transported around the country in trucks that are not refrigerated. It means that during summer, bottled water may be toxic. The softer, flexible plastic used in bottles breaks down easily, releasing lead into your beverage.
Lead pipes of yesteryears have been replaced by PVC pipes in order to stop polluting the ground with lead, but over time they are guilty of causing the same contamination they are supposed to prevent. It takes a very long time for plastic to degrade. It piles up much faster than it goes away and when it goes away, its chemical make-up continues to poison the environment.
Measures should be taken to check the use of plastic since it is not healthy for our environment. Scientists are at a loss how to find a solution and clean up the mess that has already been made.
We can start by not buying bottled water and use other water purifiers instead. Start using paper bags instead of plastic ones. The manufacture of plastic bags add tons of carbon emissions into the air annually. They cause thousands of marine animal deaths. Fortunately environmentalists are taking the initiative to deal with the detrimental impact of plastic bags by either banning or discouraging their usage. Let us join hands with them.
Dr(Mrs) Archana Bharat
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