JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA (ADV) – Plastics items are unneeded in society and there are various resorts to substitute in order to protect the environment, this is according to Rwandan for Environment Minister, Dr Vincent Biruta.
“Many of these things are really not needed and they should have alternatives,” he said.
Rwanda Parliament is said to be in a process of discussing the law of banning plastic items like straws, bags, cups and bottles.
This follows after a cabinet meeting approved to hold further discussions that involving the prohibition of manufacturing, use, and sale of single use plastic items.
“What did you use before the advent of these plastic straws to drink your local beer? Many of the things you are using today have got alternatives” he said.
According to the Sustainable Maine Project, half of the 8.3 billion tons of plastic manufactured on the planet was produced in the last 13 years, and a family of four uses 1,500 plastic bags a year. Only nine percent of these bags are recycled, the rest end up in landfills or left to drift across the land and sea.
The research showed microfibers in all of the oceans, from the coast to the middle of the open ocean.
Other researchers have shown that micro plastics are consumed by small marine animals and make their way up the oceanic food chain, impacting wildlife, and threatening drinking water supplies.
Further studies have also revealed that micro plastic particles in autopsied whales, and micro-synthetic fiber particles are detected in 83 percent of lobster samples.
© Bur-JHB – K.R – African Daily Voice (ADV) – Follow us on Twitter : @ADVinfo_en
