World Oceans Day was celebrated on June 8, the theme for this year being, “Healthy Oceans, Healthy Planets.” This was brought to the fore via a full-page advertisement by the Minister of Works and Transport through the local media. This, coming on the back of the by and large successful implementation of speed limit on the roads of T&T, gives the impression that this Minister is taking his portfolio to a higher level and he must be commended for his efforts.
In a recent letter to the editor, I highlighted the plans by government to temporarily close the Beetham and Guanapo dumps to facilitate upgrade and plans to modernise these facilities up to international standards.
On that occasion I also recommended that parallel to this project a system of recycling be implemented with special emphasis on plastics because it is non-biodegradable and can last up to 1,000 years.
On this occasion I again see the problem of plastics featuring once more on the occasion of World Oceans Day. It is estimated that around 5.25 trillion pieces of plastic weighing some 300,000 tons currently pollutes our oceans and seas with the most common types of plastic being straws, bottles and bags.
Because some 80 per cent of marine litter originates on land, where it is either swept from the coastline or carried to rivers from streets during heavy rains via storm drains, it becomes obvious and even imperative that upgrading of landfills alone will be inadequate without a proper system of recycling in place as well.
When fish and other marine life mistake plastic items for food, they ingest the plastic particles and pass the toxic chemicals through the food chain and ultimately to humans when they consume fish and other marine animals and thus poses a clear and present danger to health.
One cannot dispute that the Minister means well and is indeed sincere in his undertaking to commit to the preservation and rehabilitation of our coastlines and oceans but urging every citizen to commit to keeping plastics out of our oceans is simply inadequate.
One cannot discount the power of moral suasion as a vehicle for influencing a change of habit but that by itself shall fail in its objective to reduce the incidence of plastic pollution. There needs to be legislative support to make plastics less desirable by way of a plastics tax or a ban on plastic bags in order to effect positive change.
In the mean time, citizens could be urged to refuse to accept plastic bags when they make purchases at stores and be encouraged to bring along bags made of paper or other fabric.
The high incidence of the purchase of bottled water for drinking purposes must be discouraged because each year some 20 billion plastic bottles are thrown in trash and many end up in the oceans and seas.
This must not be viewed as an assault against bottled water industry because the proliferation of the use of plastic bottles is not only confined to the bottled water industry but packaging with the use of plastics appears to be all pervasive across all industries in T&T.
The stark reality is that plastics represent a grave ecological and health risk the world over and must be addressed. The use of alternative packaging materials could be considered or even a drive towards the use of portable water filters on taps used in households can be considered through a special discount price.
The proliferation of the use of styrofoam cups and plates should also be a cause for concern.
In these days of global warming and climate change, it has become imperative that we protect our environment, if not for the present generation but indeed for posterity in T&T.
Peter Narcis,
Chaguanas