Use of thermocol products rampant

PK Jaiswar

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, April 18

The state government has initiated steps for a complete ban on plastic carry bags but it is yet to take action to ban the thermocol products, equally environmental and health hazardous. The Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) states that it is yet to find an alternative to thermocol products.

Plastic carry bags have been banned in the state since April 1, 2016. However, these are easily available in the market. Thermocol disposable kitchenware is very popular among people, especially during mass gatherings, including weddings and organising ‘langar’ on roadsides. The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has imposed blanket ban on the manufacturing and use of thermocol kitchenware items.

Thermocol is a non-biodegradable substance so it has become one of the major causes of environment pollution. Burning thermocol produces harmful gases which can cause cancer. Using these is also health hazardous. Ironically, not much attention has been paid to ban thermocol products or find some suitable alternative to this.

Joginder Singh Jogi, a retired teacher and local resident, said neither the state government nor people were doing anything to the save environment. “Our gurus had given importance to healthy habits. The sale of thermocol products should be banned,” he said.

Ramesh Kumar, a shopkeeper dealing in the disposable thermocol and plastic products, said that such items were excluded from the ban imposed by the government. “That is why it is being manufactured and sold,” he added.

GS Majithia, Chief Engineer, Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB), said that there was no suitable alternative to thermocol products. “Before banning anything, we should have an alternative. In case of thermocol kitchenware, we are yet to find one,” he said. Finding an alternative to plastic carry bags, the PPCB has come up with compostable carry bags made from starch granules of maize and potato.

Meanwhile, officials of the district administration and the PPCB have held a meeting with wholesalers and distributors of plastic carry bags. They gave clear instructions to them that plastic carry bags would be completely banned from May 15. It would be replaced by decomposable bags made of starch derived from maize and potato.

They said that all the dealers of carry bags in the holy city, if found selling plastic carry bags, strict action would be initiated.

They pointed out that plastic carry bags were major environment hazard as these clog drains and sewers. Besides, these are health hazardous for living beings as well as the environment. The municipal dumps and the municipal solid waste collection points are also witness to the problem created by the plastic carry bags.

The machines, used to manufacture plastic carry bags, can also be used to make compostable carry bags. The compostable carry bags get decomposed into the soil within a period of 3-4 months.