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“SAY NO TO PLASTIC BAGS IN
INDIA”
Lyn Pickering Plastic bags were considered a wonderful invention at the time they were developed. We have had them in Australia for many years now, but they are relatively new in India, and more so in rural communities. Our local supermarket, Ritchies has brought out dissolvable bags and also encourages us to bring out own bags, which we do. Plastic bags have become a monumental problem in India cities where there is no regular pick up of rubbish, and certainly none in the slum areas. The affect in rural India is beginning to be seen as you drive around the villages. The fields close to villages, which had previously been clear of rubbish, are now littered with plastic bags. Manil and Rajen and the SEDS team have initiated a “NO Plastic Bags” for their area and gone into recycling all plastic materials in and around the farm. One of their initiatives was to have the children make up simple bags from newspaper with an A4 sheet of paper saying “No Plastic Bags” stuck to the bag. These bags are used for all manner of things, including their shop which sells T shirts, small beaded bags, clothing and woven mats made by friends of SEDS, and also by some of the Vocational Training Centre people. On most of our visits to SEDS we have picked up local fresh fruits and vegetables from local market stalls and it has been wrapped in newspaper and tied with string. On the last two visits, the small pink plastic bags have appeared. In the country with one billion people, plastic bags will become a major problem very quickly. The government have been taking some good initiatives for rural communities over the past 18 months whilst the drought has been so devastating, so it is hoped that they may realise soon the enormity of this potential problem and act swiftly.
The photo shows my grand daughter Kirralee wearing a SEDS Tshirt and holding one of the paper bags in which it was packed. |
