The use of plastic bags had a huge impact in Today’s society because it can be used in many different ways in our everyday lives, and if you look around the room almost everything is or made by some form of plastic. plastics make life easier in a way that we are able to use plastic to make useful products such as bullet-proof vests, medical Devices, car parts, and beverage containers, but plastics are one of the biggest pollutants on earth they cannot be recycled or transformed, after used and done with, plastic cannot be decomposed by bacteria or other living organisms, therefore when it rains the littered plastics get washed away into rivers and other water bodies and they often get eaten by Aquatic animals such as turtles and that’s the reason why Rwanda decided to ban the use of plastic in the year two thousand and eight. The ban on plastic has worked great for Rwanda so far, all countries should do the same in order to better our environment. Plastics can have a positive contribution to our environment in a way that they can be used in making things that includes automobile, plastic packaging, and electronics.
Plastic materials are being used in so many different ways. Whether you are aware of it or not, plastics play an important role in our day to day lives. Plastics’ ability adapted to many different functions allow it to be utilized in everything from car parts to doll parts, from drink bottles to the refrigerators that they may be stored in. According to the American chemistry council, “ plastics can be processed in various ways to produce thin fiber or very intricate parts.”(American chemistry council) this shows how adaptive plastics are to different function. And last but not least plastics make packaging easy in a way that they can be used during shipping and packaging in order to keep food fresh and free from contaminants. Even if the plastic is useful in a number of ways, they have a huge Effect on our environment. Plastic usage has become a huge part of our day to day lives, because of their light weighted, faster production and they are designed in a way that they can be flexibility used, and we End up not paying attention to the harm plastics create a risk to our planet. Plastic pollutions are one of the biggest issues that our environment is facing today because of its disposal problems and the list of its danger to the environments keeps increasing.
According the TCE: the chemical engineer, “of the nine billion of it that has been produced since the 1950s, only nine percent has been recycled, Around twelve percent have been incinerated, and the remaining seventy-nine percent is either dumped in landfills or in the environment.” this shows not only how recycling is not effective but also the environment is being polluted by plastic disposal, in most cases when we finish using plastic, for example a water bottle we recycle them thinking we doing the right thing because that what we have been tough by society not knowing plastic cannot be reused and that all the plastics that we recycle end being disposed in ocean and countries like India causing problem to the land and marine environment. “there will be twelve billion t of plastic in landfills and the environment by two thousand and fifty. Most plastics don’t biodegrade, and they can take hundreds or even thousands of years to decompose.” plastic can be broken in smaller pieces by sunlight but it does not really decompose, therefore the plastic on the lands ends up contaminating the soil due to the oil and gas that its produce with and it can also me be washed away to water sources like rivers, oceans to mention but a few and it ends up being ingested by marine animals not only that but when we feed on marine animal that might have ingested the plastic pieces the toxins from the plastics are passed to us causing diseases and that some of the reason that led Rwanda to the no use of plastic in the country law in two thousand and eight. Rwanda is located in east-central Africa, and it is surrounded by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, Tanzania, and Burundi.
“Here in Rwanda, it is illegal to import, produce, use or sell plastic bags and plastic packaging except within specific industries like hospitals and pharmaceuticals.” (Freytas-tamura, Kimiko De) most of the people in Rwanda grow crops for food when it rains, it’s hard for water to properly get in the soil because of plastics making it hard for crops to grow, not only that but the plastics on the land takes time to sink in the soil leading to floods. not using plastics in Rwanda is taken seriously and can lead punishment if found using, and it seems to be working well for the country so far. It was in 2008 when Rwanda decided to put the law ban in plastic in place. When you enter the country bags get searched at and whatever plastic is found get taken. The whole country used paper bags instead of a plastic bag for shopping packaging, stores are required to take off the plastics on goods before selling the goods to customers. Food that’s wrapped in plastics are only allowed in hotels and its not allowed to leave the hotel premises, not only that but according to Kimiko “Potato chips and other foods packed in plastic are allowed only if the companies making them are approved by the government after showing a detailed business plan that includes how they plan to collect and recycle their bags. Rwanda is one of the country that has succeeded the on the use of no plastic in the country because of the extreme law that was put on place, according to Kimiko De the author of “A Vigilant Rwanda is winning the War on Plastic Bags.” “Smugglers can receive up to six months in jail.
The executives of companies that keep or make illegal plastic bags can be imprisoned for up to a year, officials say. Stores have been shut down and fined for wrapping bread in cellophane, their owners required to sign apology letters all as part of the nation’s environmental cleanup.” sometimes in order to achieve something extreme ban needs to be put in place just like Rwanda did, is considered one of the cleanest country compared to other countries with plastic rubbish in the streets not only that but Rwanda’s has achieved a lot due to the ban of plastic since two thousand and eight they have been less death of animals, farmers no longer have problems concerning plastics, that’s why other countries should ban the use of plastics bags. Plastic contamination is affecting our waters and marine life and in addition our food web and our health. Fortunately worldwide activities to lessen or dispose of the utilization of single plastic has increased, for example, some other European nations have presented some restriction on the use of plastics, as while as China, Kenya, and Morocco. “Though at least 15 African countries have enacted some sort of ban, many still have plastic bags littered on roads, stuck in drain pipes or caught in trees. Cattle die eating the bags because they obstruct digestion.” (Freytas-tamura, Kimiko De) this shows how even if restriction and banning without appropriate enforcement like Rwanda did, plastics contamination will continue to affect our waters marine life, community and our health and in order to see a change in our environment Extreme ban needs to be put in place.
