Ownership steps will help us in the long run and secure the future of our coming generations
KARACHI: Our people are in the habit of littering and throwing garbage in the open, without thinking of the consequences their actions have. We have heaps of garbage everywhere and open landfills which are destroying the landscape of our beautiful country. Karachi is affected the most by improper solid waste disposal because there is no proper organisation which can handle this issue and solve it properly, or if there is, it is under the cloud of corruption. The city produces approximately 13,000 tons of municipal waste daily, while all the urban areas combined produce 60 to 70 per cent of the solid waste in the country. This further causes many problems, such as ground water contamination, bad odour, spread of diseases and pests in and around the waste, along with increased acidity in the surrounding soil and release of greenhouse gases.
When one learns about the impact of mismanagement with regard to waste disposal, one immediately thinks that the government should take swift action. As important as that is, the common people also need to play their part. While the government should introduce recycling and environmentally-friendly disposal of waste, single-use plastics should also be banned. People need to actively adopt a policy of recycling and reuse, and most importantly, limit their waste production. These ownership steps will help us in the long run and secure the future of our coming generations.
Agha Waseem
Published in The Express Tribune, May 6th, 2019.
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