EDITORIAL: Life must go on, with or without plastics
There can but be no doubt that most plastic goods are tragically dangerous to the environment, as well as to humans and other living creatures. This is especially the case with ‘single-use or disposable plastic bags’ and such other ‘conveniences’ as plastic drinking straws, stirrers, cotton/swabs buds...
Generally speaking, plastic waste takes a hundred years or so to finally biodegrade, even when put in landfills. Therefore – if only because of this – plastic products are one of the world’s greatest environmental challenges in terms of environmental pollution.
This is more the reason why countries across Planet Earth have been taking statutory and other measures against the manufacture, export, import, sale and use of most plastic goods. This is happening in both developed countries (in the so-called ‘Western’ world) and in the least developed/developing countries like Tanzania. When addressing the ongoing Parliamentary budgetary session for the 2019/20 financial year in Dodoma early in April, Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa pronounced a ban on the production, importation, trade or use of specified plastic products from June 1, 2019. The decision was hailed as “a historic conservation move” by the World Wildlife Fund, whose motto is ‘Building a future in which people live in harmony with Nature.’
In due course, the government issued guidelines on implementation of the ban. Indeed, the ban is commendable not only for its environmental protection value; it also provides Tanzania a golden opportunity for diversified but selective domestic industrialization outside polluting plastics. However, there’s more than a fly in the ointment here... Too few countries have banned plastics to-date – doing so desultorily and lackadaisically. Environmental pollution is a global challenge that must be functionally-tackled by all countries to be effective and sustainable. Otherwise, plastic waste from non-banning countries will continue to float on oceans and air, indiscriminately polluting the entire world regardless.
