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Living with plastic the 3R way
By Aaysha Cader
"Whether we like it or not, plastics have become one of the most versatile materials available to us today," says Sarath Wijesinghe, who has extensive experience in the field of plastic packaging. The benefits and uses of plastic are diverse. It is used to manufacture day-to-day necessities such as containers and plastic bags and also medical items such as heart valves.

Plastic has a variety of user-friendly properties: the fact that is cheap, super-tough and lightweight have made it one of the most resourceful materials ever invented by man. Yet its most notable property, non-biodegradability, has been both an asset, as well as a hazard, purely because disposing of plastic has become a growing problem in our country.

So, what do we do about a 'hazardous' material that we use every day? The easiest way of solving the problem would have been to promptly ban plastics altogether. A little research into the extent of its use in day-to-day activity would prove that such a solution is impossible. As Anver Dole, a former past president of the Institute of Chemistry says, "I don't think we'll find an alternative for plastic in a long time."

Thus, the option left, is to tackle the problem. The Sri Lanka Centre for Plastics in Environment (SLCPE) is a sub-committee formed in January 2003 especially for this purpose, by the Plastic and Rubber Institute of Sri Lanka. The centre, comprises mainly those involved in the plastic industry. Its vision is to create a responsible society that makes plastics work for the betterment of life, through recycling and substituting scarce natural resources such as forest cover .

The majority of people are unaware that plastics are recyclable, says Punya Arambewela of the SLCPE. As a result the centre has formulated an action-oriented campaign to be implemented over the next four years. SLCPE has set up a 'hotline' for recycling inquiries under the co-ordination of Saranath Cooray.

The public is welcome to call the hotline, after which the centre will delegate a recycling factory listed in its database to collect any plastic waste the consumer has to be recycled. The centre has also launched awareness campaigns and hopes to take the messages across to schools and other institutions in the future. Recycling of plastic is done on a very small scale in Sri Lanka, chiefly because the public is unaware of its existence. In fact there is reason to believe that recycling factories are short of work as a result of the meagre amounts of plastic waste that actually reach their plants.

The centre also hopes to introduce the '3-bin system', which has been successful in other countries. The collection of plastic waste would then be a lot easier, and the amount of plastic in garbage dumps would also decrease considerably.

A senior lecturer of the University of Sri Jayawardenapura Sudantha Liyanage, advocates the " 3 R" system: Reduce, Re-use and Recycle. He suggests that the amount of plastic could be cut down considerably if we resorted to simple measures such as reusing polythene shopping bags.

As is the case with any new venture, practical complications have arisen even in this undertaking. Says Jagath Gunawardena, a well-known environmentalist and public interest lawyer, "As plastic is light in weight the people who collect plastic get paid for the weight collected. The volume of it is great, but the weight is very little." This may be one of the reasons why the public shy away from this project. The SLCPE, however, is aware of the problems that may arise, and is keen to change public perceptions. As Mr Arambewela says, “It's a big challenge, but it has to start somewhere.”

They take their own paper and cloth bags
By Marisa de Silva
Want to live in a clean, garbage free environment? Meet Medha and Harendra Durgabakshi, a couple who not only believe in 'cleaning up' their act, but have actually done it.

From the time she can remember, Medha's always been conscious of the environment, and the need to minimize the use of plastic. Together with her husband she manages their everyday lives without certain 'essentials' that most of us use without a second thought. We're talking about plastic bags, better known as 'siri siri' bags.

It doesn't seem remotely possible for any Sri Lankan to come out of a shop, be it a 'Petti Kade' or a supermarket, without having a dozen or more plastic bags. But Medha and her husband carry their paper or cloth bags with them when they go shopping and ask shop assistants to pack their purchases in these instead of the usual plastic bag.

Sounds simple, doesn't it? But it hasn't been easy says Medha, because Sri Lanka seems to be a staunch member of the 'plastic culture'. There have been times that shops have not been able to meet their demands for paper bags and the couple have had to carry their purchases in their hands.

This situation has caused them much inconvenience and embarrassment as doormen have stopped them to question if they had in fact paid for their goods, resulting in the couple having to explain their policy and show their bill to the manager etc. Many a time, shopkeepers have tried to coax her into taking her goods back in plastic bags.

Medha has, however, stood her ground and insisted that either the goods be put into the bag she has brought with her or in a paper or cloth bag. Many shops and shopkeepers later, she has finally established a good rapport with certain shopkeepers, who are willing to accommodate her seemingly strange, yet eco-friendly requests.

Despite their concern, Medha says that invariably plastic bags do find their way into their house through visitors etc. When that happens, she collects them, washes and reuses over and over again, until they wear out. "I use one bag around 20 times, thereby saving on perhaps 20 extra bags," she explains.

Another aspect of their eco friendly stand is the concrete drum in their backyard which takes their biodegradable garbage. Medha explained how easy it was to have it fitted. Purchased from 'Sevanath', a shop in Nawala, the drum comes with a guarantee that it will last a lifetime and never fill up. It has a lid and is painted green so it looks pleasant and there is no bad smell whatsoever, she says.

It's also quite easy to maintain, says Medha. "All you have to do is put a thick layer of soil at the bottom and then keep adding raked leaves and grass together with the garbage and it will automatically transform itself into fertilizer in a few months time," she adds. Then you could dig up the fertilizer and use it for your garden and keep using the drum, says Medha.

As for the garbage like plastic and cardboard, that don't go into the drum she puts them into thick plastic bags (that can be reused) and gives it to the garbage collectors. After they empty it into their trucks, she asks for the bag to be returned so she can reuse it.

Harendra too is on the same wavelength; completely vegetarian as he doesn't believe in the taking of other lives, he and is also against plastic. The most effective way to eradicate the plastic problem is for the government to step in and recognize this as a serious issue, says Medha. The use of thin-gauged plastic bags like siri siri bags is completely banned in Mumbai, her hometown. No shopkeeper is allowed to sell their products in plastic bags. Similar action should be taken in Sri Lanka, monitored and followed up strongly.

Making paper bags out of recycled newspaper, making cloth bags and the use of thick plastic bags (if at all) should be encouraged by the government. They should also be made available, she says. Half the garbage problem would be resolved if the use of plastic is eliminated, she adds emphatically. And until such time as the authorities and society accept this, she and her husband plan to do their bit to change people's thinking.

 


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