From Dr G. G. Debono

Unfortunately, there is still lack of awareness concerning the serious threat to our health and environment posed by the continued widespread use of plastic bags in this country. Noel Grima’s informative article on the problem with plastic bags (TMIS 16 January) was therefore very welcome as there has been much misunderstanding, sometimes verging on hostility, in the local press over the recently introduced eco-tax on plastic bags.

We in Malta have always enjoyed the services of a superbly efficient refuse collection system whereby our refuse disappears from in front of our doors as if by magic. As a result of this, very few people realise how serious the implication this large volume of refuse produced by modern society is. The stark fact is that while plastic bags (and plastic bottles) are cheap and convenient, they carry a very high price in terms of environmental sustainability. Apart from the disagreeable universal presence of discarded plastic bags littering our streets, beauty spots and beaches – and floating in our seas and lying on the seabed, there is a far more sinister environmental threat from plastic products.

As Fr Grima tells us, we throw away 52 million plastic bags every year. These plastic bags take at least 30 years to degrade. Some even put it at 1000 years. Thus it is almost certain that they will be burnt sooner or later. The plastic used to make these bags generally contains chlorine or chlorine-based chemicals, which will release dioxin when burned. The dioxin released into the air settles on soil, water and plant surfaces. When dioxin-laden plants are eaten by humans or animals, the dioxin ends up in fatty tissues. When people eat meat, fish or dairy products, dioxin moves up the food chain and into the human body. Because humans are at the top of the food chain, the dioxin content of human breast milk is higher than any other food. In the first months of life, babies may ingest significant doses of dioxin with very serious consequences.

It is an accepted fact that 90 per cent of human exposure to dioxin is through eating dioxin-contaminated food of plant or animal origin. It has been proved beyond doubt that, over time, such exposure to dioxin can cause cancer and birth defects. Dioxin exposure is responsible for many other serious disturbances such as disorders of the immune system and hormonal systems.

Increasing concern over the environmental problems associated with plastic bag use is now a worldwide phenomenon. The action recently taken by Malta to manage the widespread use of disposable plastic bags and other environmentally suspect materials, is therefore not unique to our country – or to Malta’s membership in the EU. A number of countries as far apart as Ireland, Iceland, India, Africa, Taiwan and Singapore have already introduced draconian measures aimed at limiting or eliminating the use of plastic bags. As in Malta, much criticism and controversy surrounded these moves.

There is now universal agreement that the present situation cannot be sustained without a significant threat to health, but governments are still unsure on how to best approach remedying the problem of disposable plastic bags. Some way must be found to induce people to start re-using plastic bags (and other environment-unfriendly plastic objects) or not using them at all. The problem is compounded by the fact that plastic bags, especially thin flimsy bags, have no recycling value and are immediately thrown away. This has allowed the plastic bag industry to flourish at its own – and our – peril. The downside of trying to reduce or eliminate the use of plastic bags is that some jobs will inevitably be at risk. It is also inevitable that there will be some initial confusion in the way this tax is introduced. This has happened in other countries as well as in Malta. Indeed, many countries are carefully watching developments elsewhere to benefit from the experience of other countries before they introduce corresponding legislation.

The important thing to remember is this: The plastic bags we throw away after carrying our purchases home all have something in common. Their disposal poses a threat to us and future generations.

Next time you go shopping, take a recycled plastic bag with you and use it as often as possible before discarding it. Or, better still, take your cloth bag or a good old gewlaq and avoid the use of plastic bags in the future.

George G. Debono

SLIEMA