Plastic bottles escape pollution laws
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While bottles of mineral water are increasingly becoming a major cause of pollution, not much is being done about it. A reason for this is that the entire focus of Plastic Waste (Management and Handling) Rules, 2011, is on polythene bags and their thickness and that the rules to ensure the responsibility of disposal is on the manufacturer. Nobody cares to know where tons of plastic bottles containing water or other beverages, thrown carelessly after consumption, are being dumped. Even the authorities are conveniently passing the buck saying it is not covered under the amended rules.
Surender Raj, joint chief environmental engineer, AP Pollution Control Board said, “Neither the plastic bottles nor plastic containers have been covered under the Plastic Waste (Management and Handling) Rules, 2011. It is important to ensure proper recycling and disposal of plastic, since it cannot be decomposed and should not be burnt as well.” Mr Raj said: “When we consume water from plastic bottles, we just crumple it and throw it in the dustbin. It may lie there for hundreds of years before it starts decomposing.”
Officials revealed that a significant chunk of plastic bottles are not recycled and most of these end up in municipal dumps or landfills along with other municipal waste, which indeed, is not the place for plastic refuse. Experts are raising a hue and cry about the oil required to manufacture these plastic water bottles wherein the major cost is towards the plastic and not the water, being a burden on energy resources starting from the manufacture to transportation, and finally being the leading cause of pollution in our fresh water bodies and oceans. “Just like polythene bags bearing the specifics of the manufacturer and its features, even plastic bottles should ensure the onus of responsibility for safe disposal and recycling should also be fixed,” said Mr Raj.
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