The Wake up Call: What has Polythene done?

Rtr. Dilhan Jayasinghe

What are polythene and plastics? Why were they introduced to the world? 

Would you believe that polythene was introduced with a good motive? 

Earlier before the introduction of polythene, people were using bags made from paper. In fact there had been environmental pollution due to cutting down of trees not only for timber, but cutting down small trees for the manufacture of paper. As an alternative, the people were enthusiastic to hear about a synthetic material which was pretty cheap & could be used in place of paper. The black liquor made during the paper manufacturing is another toxic substance which had been of concern. Hence polythene was seen as a replacement to eliminate the issue of black liquor. But the scientists had failed to visualize the impact of polythene to the environment after they have been used. Though polythene is having a very good ability to be reused, degradability of polythene had not been thought of, when it was first introduced. 

Do you know an infant’s diaper after use, stay in the environment for 500 years without degrading?

They are non-reusable. Even a reusable polythene bag exists for twenty long years prior to being degraded.

 What are they made of? Why are they so reluctant to degrade? 

Polythene is made of long organic chains consisting of only carbons and hydrogens. These long chains are very stable and difficult to break easily. The burning of these organic macromolecules will form smaller particles containing the same atoms, and these gases are highly toxic when they are burnt under ordinary conditions. They are a main cause of air pollution, especially a carcinogenic source. Hence the society should be cautious not to burn even a small polythene bag and contribute to this tragedy. Proper garbage disposal methods are essential in dealing with polythene wastes. But have the people found out a proper method of disposing such wastes?

We will discuss the current waste disposal methods and their consequences in the next article.