For the last two decades, the matter has remained unresolved despite Government intervention with a ban on plastic bags. As the producers and dealers in plastic waste make money, the biggest loser is the environment and human public health. Gerald Tenywa expounds on the extent of the danger and what can be done to avert it.

Plastic bags are like a double edged sword. Shoppers need them to pack items, and producers as well as dealers in plastics have become overnight billionaires.

But plastics also pose a danger to human health, the environment and the agricultural productivity of the soil. This has created an epic battle between the profiteering producers of plastic bags on one hand and the environmentalists on the other.

"We are concerned about the impact of plastic bags on public health and pollution on environment," Sam Cheptoris, the Minister of Water and Environment, says. He was recently speaking at the ministry's headquarters, ahead of activities to commemorate the UN world Environment Day.

The national celebrations will take place today at Mbale Cricket Grounds under the theme, Beat Plastic Pollution. Cheptoris says the Government imposed a total ban on plastic bags (mostly single use plastic bags also referred to as flimsy plastic bags).

This was effected through the Financial Act of 2010, sending environmentalists into celebration. However, putting an end to the use of plastic bags is a battle that is far from over. The lobby against the ban on plastics is armed with money from industrialists and dealers.

They say they pay taxes and employ many people. They argue that the problem is not the plastic bags, but the behavior of the users who discard them in wrong places.

Dangers
The plastic bags are unsightly. They pollute water bodies and affect fish and other aquatic organisms. They also block water movement into soil and this affects agricultural productivity.

In addition, plastic bags become hazardous when they are exposed to high temperatures as well as fats, which alter the structures that make them up, according to Dr Tom Okurut, the executive director of the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA).

"When meat is packed in plastic bags, the plastic changes structure, thereby contaminating it," Okurut says. He also points out that the rolex, a popular fast food, is packed in plastic, which breaks down parts of the plastic into the food.

Moreover, in most parts of the country, people who clean up the environment burn waste plastics, which according to Okurut, is a case of providing a solution to one problem and creating another. "Plastics cause respiratory infections and are behind some of the increasing cases of cancer in the country," Okurut says. He also says cooking food while it is covered with plastic increases the risk of contamination. CLICK HERE FOR MORE ON THIS STORY 

UMU in crusade for environment protection

Uganda Martyrs University, Nkozi (UMU) was recently recognised by the United Nations (UN) as a centre of expertise on education for sustainable development in Greater Masaka.

It coordinates environmental sensitisation programmes in the region, which covers Masaka, Lwengo, Kalungu, Ssembabule, Kyotera, Butambala and Mpigi districts, among others. Rev. Bro. Aloysius Byaruhanga, the co-ordinator of the programme, explained how the university attained the status.

"As a university, we attach great importance to the protection of the environment. We believe that we do not own this world. We are just custodians and therefore we are always mindful of a clean and safe environment in everything we do," Byaruhanga said adding, " All our academic programmes have a component of environment. Even architecture is looked at from the view a safe environment," he said.

Sister Namutebi and the students from St Augustine's College, Wakiso, displaying the biopesticides made by the students of Uganda Martyrs University during the exhibition last weekend

Byaruhanga eplained why they opted to refer to the faculty as the faculty of the built environment saying it is because of the background that when an opportunity came along, they applied.

He said they were then granted the status on account of their profile and programmes,which were found to be impressive. Byaruhanga further explained that UMU works with UN agencies like The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), government bodies like The National Environment Management Authority (NEMA), other educational institutions and the communities to implement its programmes.

"Our role is to co-ordinate and supervise these programmes. We have centres and partner schools in all these districts. We talk to pupils, students and local communities about the need to save our environment using formal and informal modalities to mobilise our people to be environmentally friendly," Byaruhanga said. CLICK HERE FOR MORE ON THIS STORY 

Jane Goodall Institute role in beating plastic pollution

The Jane Goodall Institute (JGI) for wildlife and habitat conservation, research and education, through its Roots and Shoots programme, has done a very tremendous job in educating children on waste management in their schools and surrounding trading centres; and some of them have replicated the knowledge they obtained at their respective homes.

According to Tomas Acidri, JGI's environmental education assistant, Roots & Shoots is a programme designed to educate children about the environment, hygiene and sanitation (including training girls in making re-usable sanitary pads to keep them in school, during their menstrual period) and medicinal gardening.

"Children learn about paper recycling by making noticeboards, paper beads, fibre balls and other crafts out of waste paper and are also encouraged to collect plastic bags used for packing local Waragi/gin and use it for potting tree seedlings in nursery beds. These polythene packets are usually scattered in all trading centres," he explains.

By making use of these polythene packs, they are indirectly cleaning the trading centre, school compound and more so saving the ozone layer, unlike if the packs are collected and burned.

"Our slogan is every individual matters, every individual has a role to play, and every individual can make a difference. Together we can turn our negative actions around and make informed decisions that will save our environment for the benefit of present and future generations." 

History of JGI's 27 years in Uganda
"I am determined my great grandchildren will be able to go to Africa and find wild great apes." - Dr. Jane Goodall. This statement briefly presents the raison d'être of JGI for wildlife and habitat conservation, research and education; they exist to reverse the decline in the population of great apes and to preserve their habitats.

Grounded in the legacy of Dr. Jane Goodall's 46 years of chimpanzee research and advocacy, JGI is committed to addressing the complex issues that threaten chimpanzees in the wild, while also meeting the needs of the surrounding communities and affected stakeholders.

Their primary interest is the conservation of the endangered chimpanzee as well as the welfare of those recovered from captivity. JGI Uganda has been a registered NGO since 1996, but was first involved in Ugandan environmental issues in 1991 during a rescue mission of four chimps that had been stealthily taken out of the country. CLICK HERE FOR MORE ON THIS STORY

Burning plastic killing us slowly

The blue-grayish smoke keeps Amelia Kagere busy as she waves her tiny hands to keep it away from her face.

It is early in the morning and Kagere is firmly strapped on her mother's back who is lighting a charcoal stove with some of the plastic bags that litter their homestead in Kasokoso, Kireka, Wakiso district Kagere's mother does not know that burning plastic bags creates a much bigger problem.

So, every weekend, she picks up any plastics her hands can land on and keeps them in one corner of her two roomed house. "It has become easy to light the charcoal stove. I simply light the plastic bags under the charcoal on the stove," Ann Nantongo, Kagere's mother says.

Burning plastic bags is dangerous as they release toxic fumes that lead to impotence and birth defects among both human beings and animals, Dr David Ogaram, an expert in toxicology has revealed.

Ogaram points out that dangerous chemicals; dioxins and furans are produced when materials containing chlorine are exposed to heat. He said globally, dioxins and furans are listed among the 12 deadliest chemicals, referred to as the dirty dozen or Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs).

The POPs are toxic because they have the ability to damage and kill living organisms. Other complications that can arise from exposure to Persistent Organic Pollutants are cancer and skin and teeth defects.

He also said dioxins and furans affect the endocrine system, which produces hormones that influence biological and chemical reactions in the body. Ogaram noted that most people and public institutions, particularly the health and urban authorities, get rid of waste by burning it.

"Burning plastic waste is a case of overcoming one problem and creating even a bigger one," Ogaram said. "The toxic fumes also affect wild animals and accumulate in the fatty tissues of fish and red meat," he added.

"Uganda lacks a specific policy that deals with Persistent Organic Pollutants. The Government is silent on how to deal with pollutants," Ogaram said. Dr Tom Okurut, the executive director of NEMA said the implementation of existing policies like the ban on plastic bags was failing because of lack of political will.

Activists on environment have been questioning why the policy to eliminate plastic bags was working in Rwanda, but has failed in Uganda. About a decade ago, Uganda imposed a ban on plastic bags but the intervention is yet to bear any fruit. CLICK HERE FOR MORE ON THIS STORY 

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