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April 21, 2007: The next time you do the
shopping and carry home the things in a cute,
comfy plastic carry-bag, think: you are
contributing your share to a deadly pollution
whose ill-effects are irreversible and capable of
reaching out to numerous generations to come.
Plastic is one of the major toxic pollutants of
our time. Being a non-biodegradable substance,
composed of toxic chemicals, plastic pollutes
earth, air and water.
There is no way whatsoever you can ‘safely’
dispose of plastic waste.
Plastic causes serious damage to environment both
during its production and disposal. So the only
way to reduce the hazards of plastic is to reduce
the use of plastic and thereby force a reduction
in its production.
Plastic plays the villain right from the stage of
its production. The major chemicals that go into
the making of plastic are highly toxic and pose
serious threat to living beings of all species on
earth.
Some of the constituents of plastic such as
benzene and vinyl chloride are known to cause
cancer, while many others are gases and liquid
hydrocarbons that vitiate earth and air. Plastic
resins themselves are flammable and have
contributed considerably to several accidents
worldwide.
The noxious substances emitted during the
production of plastic are synthetic chemicals like
ethylene oxide, benzene and xylenes. Besides
hitting hard the eco-system, which is already
fragile, these chemicals can cause an array of
maladies ranging from birth defects to cancer,
damage the nervous system and the immune system
and also adversely affect the blood and the
kidneys. And, many of these toxic substance are
emitted during recycling of plastic, too.
Like in the case of all other chemical substances,
‘disposal’ of plastic is a myth. Once plastic is
produced, the harm is done once and for all.
Plastic defies any kind of attempt at disposal –
be it through recycling, burning, or landfilling.
When you recycle a hazard, you create a hazard.
Recycling of a toxic waste merely puts the
hazardous material back into the marketplace and,
eventually, into the environment – thereby making
no reduction in toxic use.
Since plastic does not undergo bacterial
decomposition, landfilling using plastic would
mean preserving the poison forever.
But can plastic be burned and thus its hazard got
rid of? No way. When burned, plastic releases a
host of poisonous chemicals into the air,
including dioxin, the most toxic substance known
to science.
Apart from these perils, recycling of plastic is
very uneconomical, dirty and labour-intensive as
has been reveled by a study conducted by the
Public Interest Research Group, based in Dehi,
India.
Recycling of plastic is associated with skin and
respiratory problems, resulting from exposure to
and inhalation of toxic fumes, especially
hydrocarbons and residues released during the
process. What is worse, the recycled plastic
degrades in quality and necessitates the
production of more new plastic to make the
original product.
Plastic wastes clog the drains and thus hit
especially urban sewage systems. The plastic
wastes being dumped into rivers, streams and seas
contaminate the water, soil, marine life and also
the very air we breathe. Choked drains provide
excellent breeding grounds for disease-causing
mosquitoes besides causing flooding during the
monsoons.
Any attempt to ‘get rid of’ plastic through
landfills is also dangerous. Apart form toxic
seepage from the landfill, resulting in the
contamination of precious water sources, the waste
mass impedes the flow of ground water as well and
obstructs the movement of roots – thereby badly
affecting the soil’s biological balance and
organic processes.
Landfills are also prone to leaks. The wastes –
especially cadmium and lead in the wastes –
invariably mix with rain water, then seep through
the ground and drain into nearby streams and lakes
and other water bodies. Thus the water we use gets
poisoned.
The only way out of the deadly and lasting danger
of plastic is to cut down the use of plastic, if
not avoid it altogether.
Say ‘no’ to plastic – whenever and wherever you
can.
BY OUR PHARMA CORRESPONDENT
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