KARACHI:
Most of the products that we use in our everyday lives are made up of plastic or contain traces of it. Plastic itself is made up of different types of chemical substances such as Polyethylene Terephthalate, High Density Polyethylene and Polyvinyl chloride which combine together to form hard plastics and soft plastics. The recyclability of plastic depends on its chemical composition. Plastic bottles, juices and milk cartons, cooking oil containers and cleaning product containers are examples of recyclable plastic. Trash bags, zip lock bags, clear plastic wraps, potato chips bags, etc. are some non-recyclable plastics.
The use of non-recyclable plastic is more dangerous for our environment. This is because such plastics are thrown into the trash and consequently make its way into streams and rivers. It significantly affects marine life and pollutes bodies of water. One in three species of marine mammals have been found entangled in plastic. Moreover, non-recyclable plastic is burnt at a massive scale, which causes harmful chemicals to release into the atmosphere and pollute the air. If buried underneath the soil, the natural decomposition of plastic can last from 400-1000 years causing the land to become infertile.
The government should take effective measures and ban the use of non-recyclable plastic items. As citizens, it is also our responsibility to avoid purchasing non-recyclable plastic items and try to keep our environment clean. As a long-term measure, awareness must be created regarding the detrimental effects of plastic.
Gulshan Mustafa Koondhar
Karachi
Published in The Express Tribune, December 10th, 2021.
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