Voice 1
Thank you for joining us for today’s Spotlight. I’m Joshua Leo.
Voice 2
And I’m Rebekah Schipper. Spotlight uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.
Voice 1
In 1977 people began using a new, popular invention - the plastic bag. Clothes stores and food markets all over the world began giving plastic bags to people. Plastic bags were an easy way for people to carry their purchases.
Voice 2
But over the years the number of plastic bags has grown. And they have become a large waste problem. Plastic bags collect in the streets. The wind blows them through cities. Plastic bags are in the oceans. They can kill fish and birds. And plastic bags fill waste areas. Some waste materials can quickly decompose back to natural soil. But plastic bags do not turn into soil as easily as other waste materials. Are plastic bags a waste problem in your area?
Voice 1
Today’s Spotlight is on plastic bags. Some people are trying to solve the problem of plastic bag waste. Their ideas are very creative. And, these ideas are easy for any person to try.
Voice 2
There is a website that lists facts about plastic and paper bags. It is called myownbag.com. According to this website people use fourteen trillion [14,000,000,000] plastic bags each year. It is true that many people like to use plastic bags. They do not weigh very much. They are strong. They can hold many things. Plastic bags can help make carrying your purchases easier.
Voice 1
But did you know it takes about one thousand [1000] years to break down one plastic bag? That is, it takes one thousand years for plastic material to return to a natural substance.
Voice 2
That is why many people are concerned about plastic. Plastic bags do more than create waste. Creating plastic bags uses a lot of energy and oil.
Voice 1
Anita and Shaleb Ahuja are concerned. They live in a poor area of Delhi, India. The Ahujas help manage waste. In Delhi, plastic bags are a large problem. They collect in the streets. They block the pipes that empty the streets of rainwater. The Ahujas see that the amount of plastic waste increases each year. They say,
Voice 3
“We were already involved in waste management. We were getting a lot of plastic waste. That is when we decided (to try to solve) this big problem.”
Voice 2
Anita had an idea to reduce plastic waste. One day she met with a friend. Her friend was making a modern-looking handbag from cloth. She asked Anita to give her a piece of plastic. Anita’s friend used the piece of plastic as part of her cloth bag. That is when Anita had her idea. She could use old plastic bags. She could make new hand-bags from old plastic!
Voice 1
Anita and her friend made the first new handbag using many old plastic bags. First, they washed the plastic with water. Then they let the plastic dry. Next, they connected many pieces together with small, thin pieces of colourful rope. The end result was a very strong, colourful hand bag! These are bags that people want to use again and again. They have a very modern look.
Voice 3
“I showed (the handbag) to my friends. They liked it very much. That was the time that (I understood) that it (could work).”
Voice 2
So, the Ahujas started their own company called Conserve. At Conserve they make new handbags out of old plastic bags. The company began small. But now, they employ three hundred [300] people! The employees walk through the streets and waste areas of Dehli. They collect wasted plastic bags. They collect thousands of bags a day! Then workers turn those bags into new modern hand bags.
Voice 1
Conserve has expanded over the years. Now the company turns plastic into many different things - paper holders, shoe holders, storage boxes, and table covers. Conserve makes about one hundred fifty thousand [150,000] dollars a year.
Voice 2
The Ahujas are doing good work. They are cleaning plastic off of the streets. And they employ many of Delhi’s poorest people. Anita said,
Voice 3
“I am doing something that is useful. Polythene (plastic) bags block our (pipes). Cows eat them and get sick. By making them into hand bags, they get used. And unemployed people get jobs. I feel it is good for the city too. We are taking the waste off of the streets.”
Voice 1
Other people also have ideas on how to help end the problem of plastic bag waste. Reusablebags.com* is an Internet website that lists ways to re-use plastic bags. Here are some of the ideas that Spotlight found.
Voice 2
One person wrote that she and a friend used plastic bags to make a rope. They tied many bags together. They found that the rope was very strong. She said,
Voice 4
“After loading my car the back would not close. A man who was helping me took a couple of plastic bags. He split them. Then he tied the two pieces together. He used it as a rope to tie and hold the back of my car down. I thought this was so smart. Now I always carry plastic bags in the back of my car.”
Voice 1
Another woman wrote about how she uses plastic bags to help ban plastic bags. She lives in Australia. She collects plastic bags from off the streets. Then she connects them to herself. She calls herself the “Baglady.” She wears bags from head to toe. She tells people about the dangers of plastic waste.
Voice 2
Some countries, like Scotland, have placed a tax on plastic bags. Now people do not receive them for free when they go to the store or market. They must pay for them. Many people do not want to pay for plastic bags. So, they re-use old bags. Some people carry other kinds of bags. These countries have reduced their plastic waste problem. Other countries have banned the use of plastic bags all together, like South Africa and Kenya.
Voice 1
There are many Internet websites that give ideas about ways to re-use plastic bags. But on those sites there are people who are against using plastic at all. They suggest carrying a cloth bag instead. Carry it to the store. Carry it to the market. People can use cloth bags again and again. Re-usable bags do not create waste.
Voice 2
Plastic bags are a waste problem that will not soon go away. But, people can help reduce waste. Do not be part of the problem. Be part of the solution instead. Re-use your plastic bags. Or, do not use them at all! Keep your community’s streets clean.
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