04-09-2012, 12:44 PM
Plastic Bags
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WHAT ARE PLASTICS?
Plastics are synthetic substances produced by chemical reactions. Almost all plastics are made from petroleum, except a few experimental resins derived from corn and other organic substances.
"Plastics" derived their name from their properties to be molded, cast, extruded or processed into a variety of forms, including solid objects, films and filaments. These properties arise from their molecular structure. Plastics are polymers, very long chain molecules that consist of subunits (monomers) linked together by chemical bonds. The monomers of petrochemical plastics are inorganic materials (such as styrene) and are not biodegradable.
Plastic has many properties which has made it a raw material of choice for Manufactures of plastic Bags and packing materials. Cost of production, light
weight, strength, easy process of manufacture, and availability are few of the properties. There is nothing wrong with plastic as a material. Man has simply not put the plastic to the right use/ or using it without taking proper care of other related norms of usage.
PLASTIC AS PACKING MATERIAL
Plastic has replaced the traditional material ( paper/cloth etc) as packing and carry bags because of cost and convenience which is possibly a wrong choice of material for such use. Even though plastic bags can preserve food and can be used for growing vegetables in a controlled environment, their method of disposal has creates unprecedented pollution problem.
SHOULD PLASTIC BE TOTALLY BANNED?
Many household utility items like needle, scissors, blades can heart if not handled properly. Children need to be trained in their proper handling. These utility items are not banned. But because of throw away culture and no objection from passer by, the advise on sensible disposal of plastic bags are not heeded by general public forcing the government to consider banning of plastic bags all together.
"Should plastic carry bags and bottles be banned in totality?" - is a heated issue today. Average Indian uses one kilogram (kg) of plastics per year, the world annual average is a alarming 18 kg. But too many do it as our cities have huge population. The country yet to take a serious view of the issue and have a uniform nation-wide law for indiscreet disposals of plastic bags. People should be educated on the proper ways of plastic bag usage and the disposal. The teaching should start right from the primary schools.
THE GLOBAL DIMENSION
More than a 100 million tonnes of plastic is produced world-wide each year. Though plastics have opened the way for a plethora of new inventions and devices it has also ended up clogging the drains and becoming a health hazard. Many countries, including India, are trying to increase the amount of plastic that is recycled. But commercial interests create hindrance for effective legislation to remove plastics from goods where they can threaten public health. Also there is a clear trend of shipping off the plastic waste of developed countries to under developed and developing countries. India imported 7,841.8 metric tonnes of plastic waste from the US in the first half of 1994. India is the fourth highest Asian importer of plastic waste behind Hong Kong, Philippines, Indonesia.
FUTURE ALTERNATIVE - ECO-FRIENDLY PLASTICS
However newer technology is also being developed in this regard. This entails the use of DEGRADABLE PLASTICS. The principal is to incorporate into the plastic some chemical that is photodegradable/biodegradable or chemically treatable.
By adding starch, biodegradable plastics are generally made. On burial such plastics are attacked by bacteria feeding on starch, which breaks these down into tiny particles that disappear harmlessly into the soil. Some common examples of biodegradable plastics are the use of "non-removable" suture materials in surgery or capsules for drugs, which dissolve slowly in body fluids.
THE SOLUTION
The solution lies in finding
1. alternative suitable for making Bags and packing material at competitive rate and convenience without having any negative aspect.
2. R&d to make plastic more environment friendly.
3. Educate users to the right disposal methods.
4. Reduce the no of users by reducing the population in the long run.
5. Process vegetable. etc to higher density so as to reduce the no of bags required to pack and carry. 6. Encourage reusable bags from traditional materials by suitable advertisements to make it fashionable. ( this may be the overwhelming factor in favour of traditional material). ( Ladies use bags made of snake skin/ rabbit skin/lion skin etc only for fashion and looks )
7. Cost of mfg bags with traditional material can be subsidized by printing advertisement on the bags.