Oh plastics! They are so convenient. We can’t seem to do without them yet, we know that they are destroying our environment. And to think that we did just fine before the invention of plastics! But now, plastics, in all their multiplicity and flamboyant colours, are literally choking our earth, the finite space we call Ghana.
Here is a family social responsibility (FSR) and good citizenship assignment for households. Keep all plastic bags handled by members of your household for a month so you can begin to assess your contribution to the plastic bag menace. Before you throw your collection away, take note of the varied colours, sizes and texture as well as the sheer volume of plastics that comes your way invited and uninvited.
Next, give yourself the permission to reflect on your plastic collection and see them as part of your carbon footprints with which you defile the earth. Reason? So that next time you see a plastic-choked gutter, or plastics flying about like birds, and plastics filthily ‘decorating’ the streets, you would accept the fact that you are part of the problem.
An international campaign to ban plastic bags and to place restrictions on their usage has been gaining momentum. Stories abound from across the world about countries, cities, towns and communities that have/are taking steps to conquer the monster. From Ireland, Australia, Italy, South Africa and Taiwan to Mumbai, Hawaii and Uganda, and even China, several countries are placing one form of restriction or the other on plastics, including banning them outright.
Following are a few stories from the plastic bag front on the international scene. In 2000, Mumbai (Bombay) in India banned plastic bags. Dhaka in Bangladesh followed in 2002. Earlier this year on January 10, China, the big bad boy of environmental pollution, suddenly announced a complete nationwide ban on super thin plastic bags. A compulsory charge was imposed on plastic carrier bags to take effect on June 1st with further instructions for all supermarkets and small shops to go ‘plastic bag-free’ by that date. Additionally, the Chinese cabinet has announced plans to create incentives for companies to separate bags from waste for reprocessing and/or recycling.
Regardless of the existence or absence of a consistent national approach on the issue, recently on March 2, the state government of South Australia announced a ban on single-use plastic bags by year end. Premier Mike Rann said of the initiative: "The time has come to lead by example and I am urging all states to follow this important step in ridding our environment of these bags that contribute to greenhouse gases, clog up landfills, litter our streets and streams as well as kill sea life."
In August 2007, Sainsbury (UK) placed a ban on plastic bags from their stores and began to give away free reusable bags to their customers. In February, Aylsham announced plans to become Norfolk's first plastic bag-free town while Suffolk County Council reinforced intention to have the county get rid of plastics. Retailers such as Ikea in the UK removed single-use plastic bags from their stores in July last year. Not to be out-done, in late February, Marks and Spencer announced plans to charge 5 pence for each plastic bag issued.
On February 29, it was reported that UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown called for a ban of plastic bags. He announced that it was time for government, individuals and supermarkets to accept responsibility for ending the environmental damage they are causing. He added: “I want to make clear that if government compulsion is needed to make the change, we will take the necessary steps”. Now, that is leadership! Not to be left out, a few weeks ago on March 3, news hit the headlines: “Now eco-friendly Prince Charles teams up with supermarket chain to wage war on the bags.”
There are moves in the United States to follow the global trend to regulate the use of plastic bags. For instance, in Annapolis, Maryland, a 2007 bill aimed at protecting marine life would also ban plastic bags from all retail stores. On November 18 2007, a city ordinance went into effect that forbids the use of plastics in large groceries and drugstores.
Other cities in the USA have and continue to adopt measures to control the plastic menace. Boston (Massachusetts), Baltimore (Maryland), Portland (Oregon), Oakland (California), Seattle (Washington) and Steamboat Springs (Colorado) are considering their own initiatives.
Different approaches are used by various countries. For instance, plastic bags were not outlawed in Ireland. News headlines on February 4, 2008 reported an about-turn of social acceptance of people in Ireland who use plastic bags. Interestingly, this change of social acceptability was triggered after the imposition of a 33 cents tax on the bags at the point of product purchase. Within weeks, plastic bag use dropped by 94% with people quickly replacing the bags with their own reusable alternatives. Money swine!
Some African countries have also taken measures to place limits on plastic bags. In South Africa, plastic bags were nicknamed the country’s “national flowers’ because they were colourful litter on streets. So in 2003, under the leadership of a minister of environment who had real passion for the environment, South Africa made the thin and flimsy plastic bags illegal. Retailers handing out plastic bags faced the equivalence of $13,800 fine or a 10-year jail sentence.
The plastic ban fever has also caught on in East Africa. In 2005, Rwanda banned the importation and use of plastics which are less than 100 microns thick. In 2006, Tanzania took it a step further when Vice President Ali Mohamed Shein announced a total ban on plastic bags and ordered a switch to recyclable materials or biodegradable alternatives. Other African countries, including Uganda, Kenya and Zanzibar have adopted measures aimed at controlling plastic bag importation and usage.
Plastic is business. Big business! Big money! There are strong interest groups who fight any well-meaning moves aimed at banning or limiting the use of plastics. Reasons? Simple! Reducing the use of plastics will amount to putting sand in some people’s garri. Who wants sand in his/her garri? Without a doubt, sand renders garri ‘uneatable.’ Any efforts to ban plastics will therefore meet with resistance from plastic bag importers and producers as well as others who make a living from the convenient ‘monster.’ Take a case in point from China.
After the state government announced its decision to restrict the production, sale and use of plastic bags earlier this year, Huaqiang, China’s largest plastic bag manufacturer, closed down in mid-January. The factory employed 20,000 workers and produced 250,000 tons of plastic bags a year, valued at about $305 million. The fate of the employees and the industry, hang in the balance. So there are challenges.
This matter therefore needs political courage to handle and policy that is bold, consistent and forward-looking. Not a policy that could bend just because some ‘high-fly’ beneficiaries go to ‘see’ movers and shakers all the way to the slave castle to influence policy. The plastic menace is not about the beneficiaries of today but the losers of tomorrow – our children yet unborn, for whom we are choking Ghana.
We must respond to this crisis or else, someday, plastics will choke Ghana – Watch!
+233208286817; dorisdartey@yahoo.com
Plastics are tough
They fly, they hide, they choke
Not made to melt, not known to melt
They hide in gutters, water-ways, farm-lands, oceans – Waiting!
Someday, plastics will choke Ghana – Watch!
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