BAN PLASTIC BAGS TO PREVENT CATACLYSM

An environmental cataclysm looms in Tanzania. The government has warned that the country’s waters will have more plastic bags than fish by 2050 unless intervention is made. Considering the seriousness of the matter, prompt action is needed as procrastination may make the damage reversal well nigh impossible.

We are aware that previous efforts to control the use of plastics have proved futile.

The government has pushed back the date of total ban on plastic use, saying it has to consult all stakeholders. Last year, it announced that the ban would be effected on January 1, 2017.

Manufacturers were directed to either adopt new technologies of making decomposed bags or shut down their businesses pending the ban.

We have no qualm about the collection of public views since manufacturers of plastic bags have been reluctant to comply with government’s stand, while environmentalists have been supporting the ban.

It is a democratic way of doing things to ensure compliance. After all, this is accordance with Section 178 (I and II) of the Environmental Management Act of 2004, which requires the public to be consulted before changes are made.

The Plastic Manufacturers Association of Tanzania (PMAT) suggests that the production of biodegradable plastic bags that can be decomposed in three months be allowed to continue.

It cautions the government that it risks losing revenue by banning plastic bags as some businesses will be closed and staff sent home. It argues that the ban should be slapped on imported plastic bags only, claiming it they are below standard.

Plastic bags smuggled into Tanzania

In October 2016, PMAT officials told the Parliamentary committee on environment that over 70 per cent of plastic bags were being smuggled into Tanzania.

Much as they spiritedly oppose the ban, studies have established that disadvantages of plastic use outweigh benefits.

A study by researchers of the University of California, Santa Barbara, revealed in last week’s issue of journal `Science Advances’ that human beings had made over 9.1 billion tonnes of plastics since large-scale production of the synthetic materials began in the early 1950s, and most of it now resides in landfills or the natural environment.

They warned that plastics don’t break down like other man-made materials, so three-quarters of the stuff ends up as waste in landfills, littered on land and floating in oceans, lakes and rivers.

At the current rate, human beings are heading towards a plastic planet.

They calculated that of the 9.1 billion tonnes made, nearly 7 billion tonnes are no longer used. Only 9 per cent got recycled and another 12 per cent was incinerated, leaving 5.5 billion tonnes of plastic waste on land and in water.

It is understood that the plastics boom started after World War II, and now the plastics are everywhere. They are used in packaging like plastic bottles and consumer goods like cell phones and refrigerators. They are in pipes and other construction material.

Let’s take a leaf from Zanzibar and Rwanda’s book to ban them sooner rather than later for the benefits of the posterity.