Mona Abdal Fattah

Makkah Daily

 

Famous British wildlife filmmaker Rebecca Hosking once visited Midway Island as part of her work on a documentary film about the effects of plastic waste on sea life around Hawaii.



She was confronted with the horror of hundreds of albatrosses lying on the sand with their stomachs split open by the heat, and bits of plastic spewing out between the feathers and the bones.



All kinds of plastic - toys, shopping bags, asthma inhalers, pens, cigarette lighters, toothbrushes, combs, bottle tops  - were there, and the birds had swallowed them and choked to death.



There were also humpback whales, seals and turtles all dead or dying from having ingested plastic items.



After finishing the film, Hosking started a campaign to have plastic bags banned in her home town of Modbury, England. As a result of the campaign, all shops in Modbury stopped handing out plastic carrier bags and instead, shoppers were asked to buy biodegradable bags made from corn starch, canvas or cotton. Within a short span of time, Modbury became the first town in Europe to go plastic bag free.



Several Saudi researchers and environmentalists have warned against the use of plastic bags as they pose a direct harm to the health of humans, animals and plants.



This warning coincides with global concerns about addressing this growing environmental problem.

Every year, billions of plastic bags are used for shopping worldwide.  Plastic bags are non-biodegradable; it will take thousands of years for them to decay.

According to recent studies, only one percent of these bags can be recycled and they  can harm the health of humans and the environment due to their toxic content.



There have been campaigns in the Kingdom to replace the use of non-biodegradable plastic bags with those which are biodegradable. However, most plastic bag companies continue to produce non-biodegradable bags as they are cheaper that those which are biodegradable.



It is high time that we experiment with environment-friendly alternatives to plastic bags, such as biodegradable bags made from paper or canvas. These bags can easily be recycled and will decay without causing any harm to humans or the environment.



The Kingdom’s traditional basket made of palm branches is one of the best alternatives to plastic bags. Apart from reviving one of our rich traditions, different models and types of these baskets could be manufactured to serve a variety of purposes.



The innovation and talent of Saudi youths can also be utilized for this. It would also help boost date palm farming in the Kingdom.