A day after Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar announced a ban on the purchase and sale of plastic bags below 50 microns, and said that the thin plastic bags are the main cause of choked drains, Goa received a day-long spell of pre-monsoon showers leading to flooded streets in towns and villages across the State. Most of the flooding was due to choked drains. It was almost as if nature itself was weighing in on the statement of the Chief Minister, urging the government to do whatever possible to end the excessive use of plastic bags that are a major threat to the environment, and not just to drains and the flow of water, but also lead to garbage and cause other problems as well.
As per the Chief Minister’s statement, trade in bags below 50 micros will be stopped from July and initially those buying or selling the banned bags will be fined Rs 500 and the fine will subsequently be increased to Rs 5000. Imposing a fine on those trading in plastic bags will be a deterrent, but the authorities should strictly implement this so as to permanently stop the use of such bags by the people. While the fine is a good move, there is also an urgent need to replace the use of plastic bags by bio-degradable materials, and the Chief Minister has suggested that people begin using cloth bags for their marketing and other shopping, making this a habit.
The fines imposed on use of plastic below 50 microns have to be supplemented by a policy that will reduce the use of plastic and replace it wherever it can be done. While it may not be possible to stop the use of plastic in general, the next best thing would be to look at recycling, for which plastic of less than 50 microns is not suitable. Plastic is not bio-degradable and can remain in the environment for decades. Bio-degradable materials are those that can be broken down by microorganisms into organic matter and are largely composed of common elements such as carbon, nitrogen, oxygen etc. Plastic bags can take up to 80 years to degrade causing tremendous damage to the environment in the meantime. According to estimates, a foam plastic glass will take up to 50 years, while a plastic bottle could take up to 400 years and a disposable diaper 450 years to degrade.
The urgency in finding a solution to the use of plastics can be gauged by the fact that estimates of the amount of plastic in the world’s oceans produce a daunting figure of 165 million tonnes and growing annually. The large quantity of plastics in the water decreases the rate of the material’s degradation even further. These vast amounts of plastic in the oceans are also a threat to human and marine life, as the toxins include Diethylhexyl phthalate, which is carcinogenic, besides lead, cadmium and mercury. Consuming fish that contain these toxins can lead to cancers.
But it is not just in the oceans that plastic can be harmful. Plastic is harmful especially because of the chemical additives during production, which do not make it bio-degradable. Plastic that is carelessly thrown about can release chemicals into the soil that can seep into the groundwater, affecting the health of persons who consume this water.
Banning plastic bags of less than 50 microns is a first step, but immediately needs to be supplemented with a policy to phase out the use of plastic. It is only when such a policy is in place that the State will have truly moved forward to save the environment from the perils of plastic.
