THE use of polythene bags causes pollution and adversely effects our planet. An international research study says that every year more than 500bn plastic bags are used worldwide. We use one million such bags every minute damaging our environment. These are worrisome figures, and calls for immediate action.

The proper disposal of plastic bags is a cumbersome process. These bags are the most common cause of sewerage blockage.

Plastic bags are made of various toxic chemicals and do not decay even after 100 years. The chemicals used to make plastic bags are xylene, ethylene oxide and benzene. When these are burnt, all the chemicals are released into the air and contaminate it, and are the cause of many dangerous diseases for humans and animals.

Rather than wait for the government and civic bodies to resolve the issue, the people can stop using plastic bags and resort to the following measure:

They can also use biodegradable bags; reuse plastic bags or sacks whenever possible. Use containers instead of plastic bags for food refrigeration, and donate all used plastic bags to recycling units instead of throwing or burning them.

Maham Imtiaz

Karachi

Published in Dawn, May 23rd, 2015

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