Year in year out the public has been hearing debates about risks and the measures that need to be taken to address problems attached with plastic bags. But, nothing has changed. The rhetoric still continues. An attempt made to address plastic bag pollution through limiting the thickness of locally produced or imported plastic bags to 0.03 mm was neither effective.
So, what should be done? This time, however, Environment Forest and Climate Change Commission says that it is now mulling over totally banning the production and import of indecomposable bags. For this end, it has formulated a legislation which will be enacted after ratification by the House of Peoples Representatives (HPR) in the near future.
Plastic bags have been in use in different parts of the world since 1960. Our country has also been using them. They have been in use for selling, packing, and disposing garbage. However, these plastic bags are made of polythene, a plastic that affects terrestrial as well as aquatic animals, and plants. According to the Environment, Forest, and Climate Change Commission, most countries had banned the production of the plastic bags, whereas, some of them have tried their best to recycle the plastic materials.
Countries like South Africa, Botswana, Egypt, Eritrea, Uganda, Tanzania, and China have banned either producing or importing of plastic bags. Some countries are recycling the plastic bags. Nonetheless, tiny bags are hard to recycle. The document from the commission indicates regardless of the negative impact they have on the environment; plastic bags are in greater use in this country.
This is mainly because of the easy accessibility, comfort to handle, and cheap price of the bags. Girma Gemechu, Solid and Hazardous Waste Compliance Monitoring Director, says the Solid Waste Proclamation No.
513/1999, bans either producing or importing of easily decomposable plastic bags with thickness of less than 0.03mm or any indecomposable plastic bag. However, both indecomposable and decomposable plastic bags with less than the mentioned thickness have been found almost everywhere in the country.
The study by Addis Ababa Trade and Industry Bureau uncovered the presence of 486 trademarks that are registered under the production of plastic materials in Ethiopia. Out of the 21 sample plastic factories, 12 are found to produce plastics with thickness of less than 0.03 millimeters. Of 12 factories, 2 produced plastic bags made of indecomposable raw materials. These raw materials are imported with high cost. Out of the 14 factories, none recycles the plastic byproducts or involve in recollecting them.
Girma said the increased use of plastic products closes sewerage tunnels in cities and towns, and leads to pileup of garbage in residential areas, affecting the health of the society. Therefore, most countries of the world have either banned or controlled the use of plastic bags, explained Girma. Most of the plastic bags are used to pile garbage. The deposited garbage will be consumed as food by domestic and wild animals, the toxic substances will affect animals’ health. Plastics scattered in farming areas protect water from sinking into the soil as a result decreasing fertility and affecting farmers’ lives, he said.
Research made by the commission also revealed other damages caused by the plastic bags. They release pollutant chemicals to the surrounding areas. The pollutants are dissolved in the underground water and affect the lives of the people and animals that use it. When these bags decompose, they produce methane, a greenhouse gas. On the contrary, banning of the production of plastic bags would increase deforestation as the plastic bags are more likely to be replaced by paper bags.
And the situation is likely to increase the consumption of paper made of wood. But, the problem of deforestation can be resolved by afforestation, pointed out the research as a solution. The director, on his part, says banning of production and use of these plastic bags outshines the values got from them. And he implied that the environmental protection authority is planning to ban the production and use of environmentally hazardous plastic substance.
The authority also suggested the use of bags made of papers, leathers, and clothes as options once the plastic bags are banned. The authority says it has been undertaking a series of researches, which came up with a recommendation of banning of plastic bags. Along with the recommendations, it has also drafted a law, which will be effective only after its endorsement by the House of Peoples Representatives (HPR).
Once it is legislated, the authority says it will follow up the strict implementation of the law. Till then, the public will continue to live with the hazards of plastic bags. However, the factories need to produce easily decomposable ones in order to reduce the social cost.
Herald January 26/2019
BY GETAHUN LEGESSE
