We Support The President�s Call To Ban Plastic Bags, But �

The President, John Dramani Mahama, started a debate worth considering, when he warned manufacturers of plastic bags that, government would be compelled to ban their products, if efficient means is not found to deal with plastic waste management.

This will not be a novelty, as Ghana; will not be the first country to implement this policy. Rwanda, a war torn -country, has one of the nicest capitals in the world, because the country has banned the use of plastics.

At the points of entry, everything plastic one is carrying, the visitor is required to leave it, before entering the country.

Thanks to technology, we have the option of not banning it completely, but we can adopt the best method of producing plastics, that can decompose within days.

There is a technology out there that ensures that plastics decompose three days after getting in contact with the soil.

We use plastic for everything in Ghana, from food to water etc, perhaps the only time we do not use plastic, is what we wear by way of cloth. It is incumbent upon us to ensure that, something is done about the disposal and management of plastic in the country.

The type of plastics we use takes decades to compose, and by our very attitude towards the environment, we do not care about the consequences of our action, we dispose waste anywhere and anyhow, even the most recent initiative introduced by the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development, dubbed National Sanitation Day, observed on the first Saturday of every month, does not receive the necessary patronage.

We all saw the catastrophe nature can cause, when we fail to take care of our environment, a normal downpour on June 3, claimed more than 150 lives, these losses, and could be attributed to negligence on the part of all of us.

What plastic can do, paper can equally do, so why not the manufacturers of plastics consider, going into paper, or better still let us adopt the technology that allows plastic to decompose three days, after getting in contact with the soil.

We support the call by the President that, we should look into the activities of plastic producers and the havoc their product is causing to the environment.

Surprisingly, not many media houses made this a topic worthy of consideration and discussing, if it was politics, the airwaves would have been inundated with ugly noises. We have prioritized politics over everything.