30 June

The other day I attended a meeting at a hotel in Nay Pyi Taw. As it is well-known, hospitality, friendliness, and care for consumers should not be ignored.

When served with lime juice, the normal plastic straw was replaced with a heavy bamboo pipe, knowing upon an inquiry from the employees. I could not help giving due respect to the managers from the hotel. I also could not help praising the employees who serve with great care and goodwill on such a small matter of using a normal plastic pipe. I also thank the employers in consideration of consumers, knowing that they would get less profit for using bamboo pipes instead of normal plastic ones. Bamboo pipes are expensive and need craftsmanship whereas plastic ones take thousands of years to decay and dissolve in the earth whereas the bamboo pipes can be dissolved within a period of three to four years to serve as soil. Split bamboo can be used for roasting or toasting; they can be split into toothpicks or table decorations in the restaurants.

Discarding over six million tons of disposables

Over six million tons of disposables are discarded daily in the world; 42% of them are reused and the rest 58% have been burnt into the earth, the sea, rivers, streams, and the lakes, flying into the atmosphere as toxic smokes.

One cannot dare think of how much will there be in the atmosphere within a period of a month or a year. Nowadays, time is money. That is why people are working against the time; they have not much time for their livelihood. Then they have to exchange money for the time. As the time and livelihood have changed, the businessmen have sold the disposables abundantly.

The disposables are produced extensively for huge profits. The results can be observed as scattered plastic pipes, bags, coffee sachets and cans in villages, towns, and cities as well as highland regions and the plains. The disposables cause ugliness on either side of the roads, but they are increasing more and more. The disposables create ecological damage between inanimate objects and animals and plants.

The leaders and authorities concerned set an example of collecting refuse so that people would follow for the sake of keeping some villages clean. But the whole country is wholly covered with disposables. Volunteers, sympathizers and ecologists made an unhesitating response for collecting, removing and picking these disposables from the earth. They have been educating the public for collecting the rubbish, citing as an example. Departments concerned could do as much as they can, even though there is a heavy load for them.

Removing disposables for the public

The ditch-clearing groups in the Yangon Region risked to climb down into the ditches in the darkness without oxygen; spiders, rats, and snakes are there ready to strike or bite the members. They have been doing to prevent flooding by removing the disposables from the ditches.

Their activities are described in the media. We have to thank these groups for clearing disposables such as plastic materials, beer, and soft drinks cans. In Myanmar, the plastic pipes are replaced with bamboo pipes and several kinds of plates, replacing cork bottles plates are made of plam fronds, and lunch boxes.

Disposables such as coffee sachets are made for hand bags, baskets, tablecloth and mats sold at a cheap price somewhere around. Particularly, the pictures of lions and pheasants and the natural scenery are made of multicolored coffee sachets. Disposed cork bottles, purified water bottles, soft drinks and beer cans are used for decorations in houses, shops and showrooms. Those materials are used fully in the cultivation of chilly, garlic, onion and flowering plants.

As these disposables are dangerous to the earth, they must be encouraged to replace with natural materials to prevent the polluted earth, water and air. The disposables should not be useless, rather they should be used advantageously. That would set a good example for future generations ,thus giving fertile soils, fresh air and safe water to them.

Avoiding to buy disposables

Recently a town in neighboring India, thousands of acres of disposables and other waste materials are thrown daily, by considering to put that town in the dirtiest lists by the United Nations.

Myanmar is not likely to be viewed as throwing disposables recklessly and 51 million people won’t accept the situation either. Regardless of race and religion, culture and customs, we have lived in Myanmar through wills and woes. Most of our people would listen to the good news of our country. In order to avoid using disposables and reduce them; things should be used effectively.

Once I happened to have a chance of meeting an environmentalist. He discussed for our daily consumption of rice, vegetables, fruits and cereals were mixed with disposables, chemicals and plastics. The habits of maintaining sound environments must be established. Disposables must be reduced ; they must be replaced with natural produce, enriching my knowledge.

Greening the earth and reducing disposables

Young charity made beautiful table lampshades, wall lampshades and ceiling lamps are put for sale. Upon enquiry, the proceeds will assist the poor children.

Greening the earth and reducing the disposables are advantageous for needy people, the rubbish would become money. Disposables are easily got and used to ruin the beauty of the environments. The ecological systems of living animals and plant species are damaged. Erosion of soils ensues and we tend to breathe in bad smells. It is hard to get purified water. Recklessly doing for the long run, it would create a bad consequence.

Up to now, how many disposables would be thrown away is our guessing game. Beneficial use of disposables cannot be known up until now. But the disposables must be reduced as much as we can. The disposables should be replaced with natural products. That is why we should reduce the disposables as much as we can as they are threatening the ecological systems between living animals and plant species and polluting the earth, waters and atmosphere. Avoid throwing the refuse recklessly, reuse as cultivating materials, encourage the natural produce, leaving a good heritage for young generations, greening our country must be carried out by collective efforts.

Translated by Arakan Sein