Plastic bags have become popular for packaging the products we consume at home. They are light, handy, attractive and resistant.
Both manufacturers and consumers find them easy to store and preserve. But they are a major threat to our environment. For example, they are not biodegradable and produce noxious gases when burned.
Animals and birds mistake them for food and, when they eat them, their digestive systems become clogged and they die. These bags never decompose and negatively affect the fertility of the soil. This minimises the greenness of the soil. The noxious gases produced by burning these bags cause serious diseases in humans, such as bronchitis, allergies, cancer, etc.
Despite the socio-political crisis rocking the North West and South West regions of Cameroon, the environmental science club of Saint Pius X school in Tatum has set up a plastic recycling programme in which students are trained in environmentally friendly techniques to turn these bags into reusable products such as handbags, baskets, wallets, ornaments, etc.
This initiative will eventually be extended to other institutions and the Tatum community as a whole. In doing so, we will have answered the call of our Creator by conserving, protecting and restoring our environment.
Lenaka Verla Karim: Science teacher at Saint Pius X School Tatum