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Journalism of Courage
PUNE, AUG 16: Municipalities across the country may be jumping the bandwagon and banning the use of thin plastic bags and making the greens happy but there are a few angry people around. And at least one of them is not a plastic bag manufacturer but rather the man who had a big role in bringing the polymer revolution to the country. India8217;s polymer-man Dr Raghunath Mashelkar strongly disapproves of the blanket ban on thin polythene. quot;We only need to do away with our littering habits,quot; he bemoans.
Pune and Sangli is already on the path to clear the plastic litter especially those thinner than 20 microns. The ban comes into effect in Mumbai from Tuesday.
He has a few things to say to the the municipal authorities. In other plastic using countries, the civic authorities collect and recycle plastic more systematically. 8220;They collect it, separate it, sometimes even generate energy,8221; he said. 8220;Blanket bans on this polythene won8217;t work,8221; Mashelkar opines. Everywhere else in the world plastic bags are used, he points out. 8220;In fact the use of more paper bags would mean more tree-felling,8221; Mashelkar warns. Considering this, polythene is definitely a more safer option, he adds.
On Sunday this Fellow of Royal Society was working hard convincing a gathering of Rotarians about plastics not being the sole cause of environmental problems. Dr Mashelkar asserted that linear low density polythene technology which makes the thin bags has been a vital technology. quot;Efforts are being made the world over to make plastic even more thinner with an augmented weight holding capacity,quot; he says.
