The day starts with the morning milk supply which arrives in a trendy plastic cover. Fruits, vegetables, oil, cloth, shoes, pens, tools etc. are all wrapped by the polythene covers. If we look around, they are everywhere.
Due to its light weight, high strength, good flexibility, performance, low economic cost plastics have gained wide-spread acceptance.
Polythene bags are the agents of air pollution, cancer, and skin diseases. It is used like a slow poison in daily life. In the process of recycling poly bags, the producers use a large number of hazardous chemicals which are injurious to our health.
Calcutta Medical College Hospital says that taking tea in poly cup can be the cause of ulcer. Experts say, polythene bags and other plastic materials, if burnt below 7000 degree Celsius, create poisonous gas which can cause cancer and skin diseases. The polythene wrapped fish, vegetables and meat are infected by anaerobic bacteria which is responsible for skin disease and cancer.
Plastic bags choke drainage system and water supply channels. The blocked drainages lead to dangerous diseases like filariasis, dengue and malaria. Plastics pollute rivers, canals and lakes as also other water-resources.
The environmentalists feel that poly bags are a serious threat to the environment and also release toxic gases in to the atmosphere. It is a simple issue which can be solved easily, but if neglected can lead to serious consequences. So, we must follow precautions and initiate measures to save our environment as well as our life.
M. V. Pravin J. Selvan
YCW - Konamcadu,
Kottar Diocese.