'Be the change, act for a greener tomorrow'

by Sureshni Pilapitiya

Would you believe it a relatively tiny country like ours uses five million plastic bags annually and only one percent is re-cycled? Forty seven percent is burnt thus causing immense environmental damage.Municipal Councils and Urban Councils have a huge problem on their hands when they have to dispose plastic.The quantity of garbage collected within the Colombo area can be seen when one takes a peek into the ''Bloemendhal garbage dump'', which certainly is an eye sore. Burning of halogenated plastics - made from Chlorine or Fluorine can release dioxins. When you burn plastic, dioxins can be produced. These dioxins can affect animals and in the long run affect food consumed by humans.

Bio degradable waste

Bio degradable waste includes 60% of waste, such as waste thrown from our kitchens. Polythene and plastic are commonly seen in local dump sites.

Communities living in close proximity to dump sites belong to the lower strata and have nowhere else to go. Such an environment is extremely unhealthy and not conducive for children to grow up in.

Vivid pictures of animals eating polythene bags and how their digestive systems were stuffed unable to be processed were also shown. If an elephant eats polythene, the animal will excrete polythene pieces through the large intestines. By eating rotten food elephants could die of worms or food infection,Animals such as deer, sambhur and small mammals can die if they consume polythene.

Polythene and plastic are now an indispensable commodity these days. Both varieties are used for packaging and packing and are now found in abundance. Gone are the days when the smaller boutiques in and around the city sold commodities wrapped in newspaper 'Gottas', the butcher wrapped meat in huge habarala leaves but now they are things of the past with sophisticated super markets taking pride of place. Polythene , plastic and the 'Sili. sili' bag now takes pride of place. To hell with environmental damage and all that crap. 'Sili sili' bags are so convenient isn't it ?' This is the notion in the minds of many

Used plastic bags, bottles, cups and other disposable items are thrown away with not a care about the immense damage it causes to the environment

What is more, garbage is collected in large polythene bags and disposed. Do we stop for a moment to think what happens after this? Do we realise how poisonous gases are sent out to the environment? Carbon Monoxide and Carbon Dioxide are toxic gases which are the by products of polythene and plastic waste.

Plastic bottles

It is a well-known fact that hot water should not be put into plastic bottles because a poisonous chemical reaction takes place, but people continue to do it.

Chemical waste from factories cause harmful effect to the environment as well as the people who live nearby. The ozone layer is ruined because of irresponsible human activity. Cutting down trees and burning forests is one reason for global warming .

' Be the change' is an organization which was formed just last year to create awareness about the harmful effects of plastic packaging and the long- term effect it causes to the environment.

The organization enlightened the media about the pros and cons of using plastic and the immense damage it causes.

The awareness program was held at the JAIC Hilton under the auspices of Dr. Priyan Perera, Senior Lecturer, Department of Forestry and Environmental Science, University of Jayawardenepura and Dr. M.A. B Prashantha, Senior Lecturer, Department of Chemistry, University of Jayawardenepura.

Convenience

"Surprisingly, the situation in Sri Lanka is better compared with other countries such as U.K And US for they generate a lot of waste" said Dr. Priyan Perera,. Why plastic has become a popular material in the world is because of its convenience.

The transparency of the pack enables users to examine the condition of the goods prior to purchase. The other reason is its light weight but have high tensile strength. Design freedom is another reason that people opt for plastic. Processing technologies employed in the industry , ranging from injection and blow moulding to thermo- forming, enable the production of an infinite number of pack shapes and configurations.

Dr. Priyan Perera said solid waste was a common problem in the world. "What we can do as individuals is to find a solution. The Center for sustainability, University of Sri Jayawardenepura and Primal Glass coordinate to help the project.

Speaking about Landfill birds, abundant food supply may lead to ecologically unsustainable population levels of birds. i: e : crows and cranes. They can be exposed to toxic waste and can be a nuisance. As a result birds can grow to be be massive when they are near dump sites.

Sea turtles around the world were eating plastic, according to a new study. Ingested debris can may have specific effects on sea birds and block the digestive tract. In a video clip the panel showed what well- known nature scientist Sir David Attenborough said "Plastic is permanent. When you cast it to a dustbin or an ocean, it does not go away.

It is permanent. Colour plastic is much worse than clear plastic.'' He presents the ''Life'' series with the BBC.

Leachate which seeps through the ground or is washed off with the surface flows down during wet weather. Animals such as fish can get affected.

Responsibility

The best is to throw away waste with responsibility and think of the consequences. Sometimes the oil which leaks from ships and factories also harm fish and sea animals in the sea,lakes and rivers.

''Be the change'' did another project of how to recycle glass waste along with Primal Glassware. After Dr. Priyan Perera's informative and descriptive speech, Dr. M. A. B Prashantha , Senior Lecturer, Department of Chemistry, University of Jayawardenepura spoke on the scientific effect of throwing away polythene and plastic. According to him we are going through a 'Petroleum era' which has a connection with the plastic era. "We use plastic bottles, bulk containers and trays. Plastics is used for daily purposes.

Engineering plastics are permanent and not used often. In polythene and plastic process, we use additives and processing aids. When we produce oily food, the oil remains in the container and gets absorbed.

Dr. Prashantha stressed that there were side effects. "We can't re-use plastic continuously.

The burning of too much Carbon Dioxide directly affects global warming. In the production of PVC raw chemicals, including highly polluting chlorine and cancer causing vinyl chloride monomer (VCM) and ethylene dichloride (EDC ) are used.

PVC is strong and has a harmful effect in the long term. It affects humans in a gradual process. Toffee wrappers are now made of layers of plastic unlike in the early days where they were made with paper.

'If we act with responsibility and care we can reduce environmental degradation' was the call of the panelists.

Pix: Siripala Halwala