Monrovia, Liberia – Appealing to the Liberia Environmental Protection Agency and the National Legislature, an adjunct lecturer at the University of Liberia Department of Communication and Media Studies is helping to develop policies and legal framework that will mandate plastic recycling.
Research Gate, a Germany-based network of academics and researchers, reports that 14.2% of Monrovia’s waste is plastic. ”Liberty suffers from terrible plastic pollution. Plastics are everywhere thrown by people. They spend a hundred years in the surroundings.
The former United Nations Mission to Liberia (UNMIL) Radio Producer and Presenter said that by doing Liberia will minimize dependency on landfill, conserve resources and safeguard the environment from plastic pollution and greenhouse gas emissions.
Speaking in an interview with reporters over the weekend, George Y. Sharpe advised Liberia to create a system that would force businesses and people to recycle plastics as the nation cannot stop utilizing plastic goods.
“I believe the Environmental Protection Agency must work with stakeholders and businesses to promote recycling while working on a and also collaborate with the National Legislature to enact a policy or legal framework that will ensure compulsory recycling. It will save our environment. With that Liberia will not just save the environment but will also create jobs for Liberian.”
He added that last week he questioned if a mineral water company in Monrovia recycles their plastic bottles by phoning their customer service number.
Disappointingly, he said, the customer service agent informed him no; they do not recycle their plastic bottles.
The former Liberian television journalist clarified that with that answered, it indicates that once a person is done drinking from a plastic products, they have no alternative than to throw the empty bottle.
“Imagine, I already have over 120 plastic bottles. Improper disposal of plastic wastes is risky for our environment. Used plastic bottles become plastic wastes when they’re not properly disposed of. Plastic wastes take many years to decompose, and they pollute landfills and water bodies. They release harmful toxins into the soil and water, posing threats to marine species, animals, and crops. Plastic wastes also contribute to climate change and they even make farming difficult” Mr. Sharpe warned.
According to the former Media Analyst at the Electoral Institute for Sustainable Democracy in Africa (EISA), Liberia receives funding from foreign partners via the Environment Protection Agency (EPA) annually to handle climate change.
He bemoaned the fact that these actions persuade foreign donors and partners that Liberia is deliberate in addressing climate change.
Tatiana Lebreton of the Ecoexperts claimed in an essay titled “plastic bottles waste: how is it damaging the planet” that the pollution of single-use plastic bottles ending up as waste in landfills, the oceans, and on beaches is rather self-explanatory.
These bottles endanger animals in addition to being ugly for us. Eating or becoming caught in plastic garbage causes many animals to become sick, or die. For instance, a whale discovered washed-up on an Indonesian beach had two shoes, forty-five bags, eleven cups, and four bottles in its stomach.
The more important problem, though, is plastic does not really break down. The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) reports that plastic bottles “decompose” over 450 years. But unlike fruit peels or dead animals, they do not break down into organic matter that which can be used carbon dioxide, water, and minerals.
Rather, the plastic particles simply get ever smaller. Known as “microplastics,” these tiny plastic particles wind up everywhere, from soil and water and the food we eat to within marine life. Recent research even reveals microplastics within human organs.
Worse still, the mound of microplastics keeps getting bigger year. Research conducted at Kyushu University indicates that the ocean alone has twenty-24 trillion microplastics, the equivalent of 30 billion half-litre water bottles.
Given microplastics’ potential harm, this should cause some worry. Studies on fish, for instance, revealed that microplastics might harm their reproductive and hepatic systems. However, it’s not only fish. Microplastics have also been linked to human damage, raising cancer and infertility risk.
Facts on pollution from plastic water bottles
You might not have realized these few facts regarding plastic water bottle pollution:
The United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) estimates that every minute 1 million plastic bottles are bought worldwide. The annual manufacturing and filling of plastic bottles generates around 2.5 million tons of carbon dioxide.
By switching to reusable bottles, the average Brit might save 94.4 kg (kg) of carbon dioxide (CO2) annually equivalent of 8,939 hours viewing movies and TV shows.
National Geographic claims that one of every six water bottles purchased is recycled.
Just in the UK, around 16 million plastic bottles go un recycled annually.
Of the plastic water bottles used worldwide, around eighty percent wind up in landfills. Every year, the ocean has about 8 million tons of plastic bottles dumped in it.
Reported by: Prince Saah
Contact: +231778239813
Email: saahprince119@gmail.com
