EVERY year millions of useless polyethylene bags end up as litter in the environment when improperly disposed of. Owing to their durability, polyethylene bags can take up to 100 years to decompose.

On land, polyethylene bags are one of the most common types of litter in populated areas, becoming an eyesore to local residents.

Littering is often a bigger problem in developing countries, where trash collection infrastructure is less developed than in developed nations. At their worst, polyethylene bags can block drainage systems and contribute to flooding, as occurred in Bangladesh in 1988 and 1998.

When these bags are washed out to sea, they pose a threat to animal life. In the decades since polyethylene bags first came into wide use, there has been a dramatic increase in the quantity of these bags found floating in oceans.

Once in the ocean, these bags can strangle wildlife or, if ingested, can choke or cause wildlife to starve to death. Over 500bn bags are used worldwide every year and the total is growing. That is an unconscionable amount of waste, so much that more than one million bags are used every minute and their impact is devastating. Polyethylene bags are part of the crisis.

MURAD MAQSOOD Islamabad