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Who is to blame for plastic pollution in Tanzania?
2006-05-25 07:51:59
By Emmanuel Seni
Who is responsible for the mounds of plastic bags, food wrappings, plastic cups, bottles and cartons that pile up on the roads and clog open drains?
We, of course! So what can we do about it?
Walk down in any city street, bus stop, public places, in Schools and Colleges, in Markets, or at our homestead, turn any corner, at the beach, on the river banks or in a park; you will find mounds and mounds of dirty plastic bags, food wrappings, plastic cups, bottles, ice cream packages, drinking water packets, and cartons lie piled high, or blocking drainage systems and sewers.
The problem comes when we no longer want these items and how we dispose them off. Plastics are used because they are easy and cheap to make and they can last a long time.
Unfortunately the same useful qualities can make plastic a huge pollution problem.
The cheapness means plastic gets discarded easily and its long life means it survives in the environment for long periods where it can do great harm.
Because plastic does not decompose, and requires high energy (ultra-violet light) to break down, the amount of plastic waste in our streets and on marine environment is steadily increasing.
The road outside our residential areas is littered with flimsy multi-colored plastic bags. The wind blows these bags into the open gutters.
The bags collect and block the gutters which then spills wastes on to the road. Mosquitoes thrive in the stagnant water. Pigs and rats wallow in the slime, carrying disease.
The place stinks and the air is polluted. The garbage men refuse to clean the gutters... they are only paid to clear off the litter on the main roads and on the city streets! So the clutter and slime increases over time.
Who is responsible for all this litter and mess of the polluted atmosphere and Lung Cancer which is to a large extent caused by the inhalation of the burned plastic smoke? We are of course! Although each one of us contributes to the problem, none of us is willing to be part of the solution to it!
The Government is keen on taking a drastic step to curb the use of plastics and make the roads clean and environmentally safe.
I highly support the government’s desire to introduce a bill that would ban plastic bags and other plastic items as a desperate attempt to control the huge environmental and health hazards that face us today.
Despite our desire to see a clean environment and clean roads, we wonder - what we would do without all the plastic things in our lives.
The many uses of disposable plastic that we use everyday comes to mind, gloves, pens, cups, bottles, cans and condoms (for the fight against HIV/AIDS) — can we really do without these?
Do we see the proposed ban as a necessary measure? Or will it be fought against with passion by the plastic industry? Each year, as industry produces more and more non-essential products individually and excessively packaged in plastic, we throw away more and more trash.
Plastic razors can only be used a few times before disposal, then more must be bought, making the plastic and razor industries more profitable.
Pens used to be filled with ink, today we use them, throw them away and go out and buy another one.
Many household appliances are designed to become obsolete within a short duration and that guarantees that you’ll just have to buy new ones next year.
To a large extent, our garbage problem is a result of a corporate business ethic that puts profits before humanity and the environment.
Industry pushes the advantages of ’disposability’ to the public because it suits them and it pays well.
The profit from disposability goes into the pockets of only a few but the hazards of pollution are faced by many more.
As a better solution to this problem, I highly send my best regards to the work of our leaders; Vice President, Dr. Mohammed Shein and Prof. M. J. Mwandosya, Minister of State, (Environment), Vice President’s Office for the proposed plastic ban of fewer than 30 microns (0.03 mm) and that of 65 microns (0.065mm) as well as through the encouraged use of alternative bags-like paper bags, sisal, and cotton bags (this on other way will highly promote the agricultural produce) and through use of other expensive and durable plastic bags, which can stay longer and used for more than once.
This will go hand in hand with the highly imposed tax on the production of this kind of plastic bags.
Yes, this makes me realize that each one of us should now develop a sense of responsibility not just towards the litter on our roads but also towards the things we buy and use and throw away.
So, to all Tanzanians, stakeholders and environmental activists let us join and share the mind and energy of what we all have to promote the ’anti pollution campaign’ in our offices, business areas, recreation areas, schools and colleges, areas of residents, hostels, campsites, and on the public places through the use of dust bins, cultural activities, religious and local leaders, as well as through the use of Radio, Television, newspapers, billboards, printed T-shirts and caps with the message of ’anti pollution campaign’ or by recycling them and through the word of mouth and workshops to protect our lives and resources as a way of environmental conservation and management of our natural resources for the sustainable social and economic development of present and future generations.
’It’s this now that we should stop messing with the environment, by staying away from polluting the lands, water and air’
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