ARTICLE : SAY NO TO PLASTIC

Say No to Plastic

By Liliana James

        Without realising it, plastics have become ubiquitous in our daily lives. Indeed, one can scarcely go more than 24 hours without encountering a piece of plastic whether in the form of packaging or a disposable piece of cutlery. With its undeniable benefits, have we gone too far in our use of this man-made material? While some have called for an outright ban on all plastic, others have taken the more moderate route and urged the public to say no to disposable plastics. In my opinion, I concur with the latter viewpoint that the general public should cease and reject the production of single-use plastics. 

        Single use plastics can be found in everyday routines. For instance, shopping bags used in supermarkets are typically made of plastic. In addition, drinking straws in fizzy or cold beverages as well as takeaway food packaging are also most commonly in plastic form. Once these items are used, they are often disposed of instead of being reused especially if they are wet or stained from food or drinks.  Consequently, most of this type of plastic waste ends up in landfills where their non biodegradable nature prevents them from breaking down into the soil. In the long run, we will have no land space to contain the trillions of kilos of plastic waste that we accumulate. 

            Another horrifying outcome is, some plastic finds its way to the rivers and oceans where they cause a lot of harm to marine creatures. Many cases of sea life like turtles and seagulls washed ashore with pieces of plastic lodged in their throats have made headlines globally. However, it is disheartening to see that human beings continue to treat this as if it were a trivial matter. 

              For all its dangers and disadvantages, ridding the world of plastic is no easy feat. Having said that, I believe that progress however little, is still a step forward. Afterall, Rome wasn’t built in a day.  In order to enjoy some measure of success, I opine that  governments should play a more active role in ensuring that nations drastically reduce their use of single-use plastics. This can be done by enforcing “no plastic bag” days in shopping malls, stores and supermarkets. It might inconvenience shoppers at first, but in the long term, bringing their own bags on a shopping trip will become second nature for consumers. Along with this enforcement, shoppers who still insist on plastic bags should be charged a small fee to deter them in the future. 

            Apart from that, whenever possible, governments should power “go green” campaigns in which schools can organise activities to educate students about the downside of using plastics. Pupils should also be encourage to bring their own food containers and reusable water bottles instead of relying on single-use packaging in the canteen. 

             At a consumer level, government bodies should promote and fund the development of greener alternatives to plastic. For example, items that are normally made of plastic could be replaced with paper or cloth. To illustrate the point, restaurants could switch to recycled paper or cardboard for their packaging and utilize paper or stainless steel straws for beverages. This in turn will greatly reduce the amount of non biodegradable waste material produced daily. 

              

             In conclusion, there is no question that we should work towards banning the use of disposable and single use plastic. Although it may take decades before we observe any notable change, the future generations only stand to reap the benefits of this gargantuan effort that begins with the simple action of saying no.