The other day I attended a meeting
at a hotel in Nay Pyi Taw. As it is well-known, hospitality, friendliness, and
care for consumers should not be ignored. When served with lime juice, the
normal plastic straw was replaced with a heavy bamboo pipe, knowing upon an
inquiry from the employees.
I could not help giving due respect to the managers
from the hotel. I also could not help praising the employees who serve with
great care and goodwill on such a small matter of using a normal plastic pipe.
I also thank the employers in consideration of consumers, knowing that they would
get less profit for using bamboo pipes instead of normal plastic ones. Bamboo
pipes are expensive and need craftsmanship whereas plastic ones take thousands
of years to decay and dissolve in the earth whereas the bamboo pipes can be
dissolved within a period of three to four years to serve as soil. Split bamboo
can be used for roasting or toasting; they can be split into toothpicks or
table decorations in the restaurants.
▲Discarding over six million tons
of disposables▲
Over six million tons of disposables
are discarded daily in the world; 42% of them are re-used and the rest 58% have
been burnt into the earth, the sea, rivers, streams, and the lakes, flying into
the atmosphere as toxic smokes. One cannot dare think of how much will there be
in the atmosphere within a period of a month or a year.
Nowadays, time is money. That is
why people are working against the time; they have not much time for their
livelihood.
Then they have to exchange money
for the time. As the time and livelihood have changed, the businessmen have
sold the disposables abundantly. The disposables are produced extensively for
huge profits. The results can be observed as scattered plastic pipes, bags,
coffee sachets and cans in villages, towns, and cities as well as highland
regions and the plains. The disposables cause ugliness on either side of the
roads, but they are increasing more and more. The disposables create ecological
damage between inanimate objects and animals and plants.
The leaders and authorities
concerned set an example of collecting refuse so that people would follow for
the sake of keeping some villages clean. But the whole country is wholly
covered with disposables. Volunteers, sympathizers and ecologists made an
unhesitating response for collecting, removing and picking these disposables
from the earth. They have been educating the public for collecting the rubbish,
citing as an example. Departments concerned could do as much as they can, even
though there is a heavy load for them.
▲Removing disposables for the public▲
The ditchclearing groups in the
Yangon Region risked to climb down into the ditches in the darkness without
oxygen; spiders, rats, and snakes are there ready to strike or bite the
members. They have been doing to prevent flooding by removing the disposables
from the ditches. Their activities are described in the media. We have to thank
these groups for clearing disposables such as plastic materials, beer, and soft
drinks cans.
In Myanmar, the plastic pipes are
replaced with bamboo pipes and several kinds of plates, replacing cork bottles
plates are made of plam fronds, and lunch boxes. Disposables such as coffee
sachets are made for hand bags, baskets, table-cloth and mats sold at a cheap
price somewhere around. Particularly, the pictures of lions and pheasants and
the natural scenery are made of multicolored coffee sachets. Disposed cork
bottles, purified water bottles, soft drinks and beer cans are used for
decorations in houses, shops and showrooms. Those materials are used fully in
the cultivation of chilly, garlic, onion and flowering plants. As these
disposables are dangerous to the earth, they must be encouraged to replace with
natural materials to prevent the polluted earth, water and air. The disposables
should not be useless, rather they should be used advantageously. That would
set a good example for future generations, thus giving fertile soils, fresh air
and safe water to them.
▲Avoiding to buy disposables▲
Recently a town in neigh-boring
India, thousands of acres of disposables and other waste materials are thrown
daily, by considering to put that town in the dirtiest lists by the United
Nations. Myanmar is not likely to be viewed as throwing disposables recklessly
and 51 million people won’t accept the situation either. Regardless of race and
religion, culture and customs, we have lived in Myanmar through wills and woes.
Most of our people would listen to the good news of our country. In order to
avoid using disposables and reduce them; things should be used effectively.
Once I happened to have a chance of
meeting an environmentalist. He discussed for our daily consumption of rice,
vegetables, fruits and cereals were mixed with disposables, chemicals and
plastics. The habits of maintaining sound environments must be established.
Disposables must be reduced; they must be replaced with natural produce,
enriching my knowledge.
▲Greening the earth and reducing
disposables▲
Young charity made beautiful table
lampshades, wall lampshades and ceiling lamps are put for sale. Upon enquiry,
the proceeds will assist the poor children. Greening the earth and reducing the
disposables are advantageous for needy people, the rubbish would become money.
Disposables are easily got and used
to ruin the beauty of the environments. The ecological systems of living
animals and plant species are damaged. Erosion of soils ensues and we tend to
breathe in bad smells. It is hard to get purified water. Recklessly doing for
the long run, it would create a bad consequence. Up to now, how many
disposables would be thrown away is our guessing game. Beneficial use of
disposables cannot be known up until now. But the disposables must be reduced
as much as we can. The disposables should be replaced with natural products.
That is why we should reduce the disposables as much as we can as they are
threatening the ecological systems between living animals and plant species and
polluting the earth, waters and atmosphere. Avoid throwing the refuse
recklessly, reuse as cultivating materials, encourage the natural produce,
leaving a good heritage for young generations, greening our country must be
carried out by collective efforts.
By Naing Oo (DOCA)
Translated by Arakan
Sein
Photo - KHAING HTOO
(MYEIK)
Ref; The Global New
Light of Myanmar
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