In recent years, there has been a rapid increase in the demand for and use of plastics especially plastic bottles both by households, companies, factories and industries for packaging and distribution of their products.
Every day the majority of us consumes drinks in plastic bottles and also uses plastic bottles in every day household goods, such as bleach, shampoo, conditioner, bathroom cleaners and hand soap dispenser bottles.
More than 480 billion plastic drinking bottles were sold in 2016 across the globe, which increased exponentially from around 300 billion bottles a decade ago. On top of that, it is estimated that over half a trillion plastic bottles will be sold in 2020. By 2021 it’s estimated that the number of plastic bottles will increase to 583.3 billion, according to estimates from Euromonitor International’s global packaging trends. According to the National Geographic, 91% of all plastic is not recycled. Jenna Jambeck, a University of Georgia environmental engineer who specializes in studying plastic waste in the oceans, said this could cause damage to marine ecosystems. She said: ‘we all knew there was a rapid and extreme increase in plastic production from 1950 until now, but actually quantifying the cumulative number for all plastic ever made was quite shocking.’ ‘This kind of increase would “break” any system that was not prepared for it, and this is why we have seen leakage from global waste systems into the oceans,’ she continued. Meanwhile in the UK, the average UK household uses 480 plastic bottles per year, but only recycles 270 of them. This means that 44% are not recycled, according to Recycle Now. Worryingly, new data from Recycle Now shows that the number of plastic bottles evading recycling in the UK could reach 29 billion over the four years up to the end of 2020.
Walking into the quarters of Biyem-assi, TKC, Etug-ebe-especially the quarter around the Handicap Centre, Streets like from Carrefour Biyem-assi towards Carrefour Accasia, Etug-ebe and TKC and I began to wonder how people manage to cope or withstand the stinking smell that comes out from the gutters as a result of standing water from homes which equally acts as breathing ground for mosquitoes.
With this, I begin to wonder how we can effectively fight against malaria, cholera, typhoid and other water bond diseases. Take a walk to Carrefour Biyem-assi especially where these women sell food {beans, pap, pofpof and soya} and look into the gutter. You will not withstand the stinks.
To add to these, you see plastics littered everywhere especially plastic bottles found in some gutters which eventually blocks the gutters preventing it from draining leading to flooding.
With all these, the question that runs through and across my mind is; How can we keep the environment clean and free from plastics which are none biodegradables? or How can I as an individual make sure my environment is clean? After all I alone cannot keep the city of Yaoundé clean but I must start from somewhere and set the pace for others to follow.
On Saturday the 13th of April2019, I joined an Organization known as Enhancing Youth Empowerment for Creative Innovation [EYECI] with soul desire to keep the environment free from plastic bottles.
Plastic bottles are everywhere you turn. Drinking water, soda, various food products and even condiments come in plastic bottles. While plastic bottles provide manufacturers with a cheap and convenient way to package their products, these bottles take, on average, 1,000 years to biodegrade–posing a threat to both consumers and the environment as a whole.
What are the effects of these plastic bottles when poorly disposed to the environment?
Reduced Landfill Space
Plastic bottles take up a large amount of space in landfills, contributing to the Earth’s waste disposal problem. According to the Clean Air Council, residents of the United States alone throw away 2.5 million plastic bottles every hour. That’s 60 million plastic bottles each day. Landfills are intended to serve the immediate area’s disposal needs for an extended period of time. The high number of plastic bottles going into the garbage, however, significantly shortens a landfill’s lifespan. In 2009, North Carolina became the first state to enact a ban on disposing of plastic bottles in landfills.
Wasted Fossil Fuels
The world’s economy depends upon fossil fuels, chiefly oil, to function property. Fossil fuels, however, are a limited natural resource. The process used to manufacture plastic bottles expends 17 million barrels of oil annually. Not only is the oil expended non-renewable, but manufacturing plants burn the oil during the production process–releasing a significant amount of pollution into the atmosphere. If used as fuel for vehicles rather than manufacturing fuel, 17 million barrels of oil would produce enough gasoline to power one million cars for an entire year.
Hazardous Chemicals
Bisphenol-A, a chemical used in the production of hard plastic bottles, such as baby bottles and sports bottles, can leach into the substances these bottles contain. The New York Times reports that, exposure to the chemical altered the mammary and prostate tissue of lab rats and brought on early sexual development in female mice. Air Pollution
Incineration is one method of disposing of plastic bottles that doesn’t reduce the available space in landfills. Unfortunately, incinerating plastic bottles comes with hazards all its own. The State of California Department of Conservation notes that burning plastic bottles releases toxic fumes into the atmosphere. The chemicals released from burning bottles poses a health risk to consumers and contributes to the breakdown of the Earth’s ozone layer.
From the above harmful effects, I therefore charge every young person to take the challenge to make our environment friendly. There is a need to preserve the environment for our children’s children. This can be called “Operation keep the environment free from plastics.
How can the council make sure we maintain and keep clean a healthy environment free from diseases?
- The council which acts as the Government at local levels, should intensify the day set aside for total clean up every week of which an inspection team will pass around on the set day for inspection and defaulter should be sanctioned. By this, our environments will be kept clean.
Come to think of it. What will happen to our environment and those living around these areas if these plastics are piled up like this for 10 years?
Do you want to do a 10 years’ plastic bottle challenge?
Tata Evan.
Tata's blog 