Fight Against Plastic Pollution Highlighted at Carnival Launch
Guests at the launch of the 2018 Vodafone Savusavu Carnival were reminded that the time to act and fight against plastic pollution was now or never.
Speaking at the launch last Saturday at the Hot Spring Hotel in Savusavu, carnival chairperson Vijay Chand said plastics in general have been known as one of the major toxic pollutants in the environment.
“A single plastic bag can take up to 1000 years, to decay completely. This makes the bags stay in the environment longer, in turn leading to a great build-up on the natural landscape much more than degradable materials” Mr Chand said.
“The risks it brings are not only to human health, but to our rivers and streams, to our coastal areas, to marine life and its effects on our unique biodiversity, some of which are threatened with extinction.
“How we can take steps to reduce the heavy burden of plastic pollution on our natural environment, our wild life and our own health? Plastic bags are one of the modern conveniences that we seem unable to live without.
“However, there have also been negative environmental and public health impacts associated with the disposal of plastic bags. They are responsible for causing pollution, killing wildlife and using up the precious resources on earth because plastic bags consume large quantities of raw materials for its production,” he said.
Mr Chand said whales, turtles and birds have been reported to die every year mainly because of plastic in their environment.
“Plastic bags not only have adverse effects on our natural habitats, but have also been found to be responsible for the death of many animals, mainly on account of the suffocation encountered on eating them,” he said.
“Since plastic bags are non-biodegradable. The only way to get rid of them from most individual perspective is to burn them up.”
Thousands peoples are expected to gather for the carnival at Narain Park in Nakama, Savusavu which will take place from October 27 to November 3.
Edited by Jonathan Bryce
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