adminwhite food trays laden with their favourite meals. These people prefer to buy these “take aways” because they afford them the opportunity to enjoy food on the go or in the comfort of their offices.
What is disconcerting, however, is that after enjoying their meals some of the consumers recklessly throw away the used food trays without any due regard to their negative impact to the environment.
Only a few are decorous enough to dispose of these waste kaylite trays in bins.
As a result, there are staggering mounds of used kaylite trays that are accumulating daily on our surroundings.
These trays are made up of a type of plastic called expanded polystyrene, which is a non-biodegradable material. The trays cannot be broken down by micro-organisms into simple particles that can dissolve into the soil. The malignant plastic waste could on one hand end up in our lakes and rivers and thus pose grave danger to fish and other marine creatures.
As they float in the water bodies, the plastic will block sunlight from reaching water plants thus could eventually lead to their stunted growth or death.
The death of marine plants could trigger the deaths of other marine animals as they exclusively rely on oxygen generated by the marine plants. Similarly, the plastic thrown away along roadsides and in our outdoor environment or on grazing lands poses grave danger to our livestock that are lamely attracted to the salt residues in these plastics. These animals are at high risk of choking and developing intestinal diseases leading to their premature death.
Notwithstanding this, the increasing number of plastics littered all over our landscape has robbed our environment of its splendid natural appeal and thus reducing it to an eyesore. Our resplendent countryside has been transformed into a reluctant extension of dumpsites as drivers and passengers haphazardly throw away these waste plastic materials through the windows of their vehicles.
These trays have therefore become a scourge that should immediately be remedied before it robs our progeny of their environmental heritage. In the same vein, we should also make genuine and conscious efforts to reduce environmental damage caused by these plastics. We must contribute towards the ongoing universal efforts to stem global warming.
As such, we should applaud concerted efforts by some enterprising and environmentally friendly individuals or groups that are spearheading a campaign to promote the proper disposal of the plastic debris.
The campaign involves a huge task of placing environmental stickers on top of the plastic food trays written “Bin it, don’t toss it”. From the look of things, the campaign is aimed at encouraging consumers to properly dispose the used plastic trays into bins and avoid the reckless behaviour of indiscriminately throwing them away in undesignated areas.
It is a noble campaign to promote cleanliness. This campaign should be reinforced by evoking the seemingly moribund city by-laws that prohibit the public from throwing away litter in undesignated areas. These laws stipulate that those found on the wrong side of the law should be fined a certain amount of money as a deterrent to this unbecoming habit.
Unfortunately this noble campaign could face a stillbirth if the municipal authorities fail to avail adequate and strategically located refuse bins to complement it.
This will definitely breed the disgraceful habit of recklessly throwing away litter. The municipal authorities need to step up to the plate and avail adequate refuse bins to cater for the noble cause of reducing litter in our streets and open spaces.
Concerted efforts should be made to recycle the collected plastic litter. It would not make sense to properly dispose the litter in bins and later on burn them thus polluting the atmosphere.
Setting up plastic recycling plants could be a Herculean task for our struggling economy but the few plants that are currently operational should be used to the maximum so as to absorb all collected plastic waste. Plastic collecting groups at our dumpsites should also be supported to ensure that whatever is collected is expeditiously transported for recycling.
Due to the current economic challenges, the existing recycling plants, with their obsolete equipment, could feasibly accommodate all used plastics hence the need to pursue other alternatives to reduce the ever increasing mounds of plastic waste. It is inspiring that some big organisations have turned a corner. After wide condemnation from environmentalists over the increasing plastic debris from its outlets Innscor
Zimbabwe managed to phase out the use of plastic containers and replaced them with paper containers.
Paper is a biodegradable material that will eventually dissolve into the soil and therefore environmentally friendly.
Food companies should gradually shift from using plastic trays and embrace the use of paper containers. To reduce the use of plastic trays, consumers are also urged to become environmentally conscious and adopt eating habits that contribute to the protection of the environment.
A habit that could easily be nurtured is for the consumers to refrain from using “take aways” but find time to sit down and enjoy their meals in the eating houses.
Online Reporter