HEALTH HAZARD: Children collecting plastic bags dumped in Siri Nagar area on the outskirts of Hassan.

HASSAN: Environment Department officers on Saturday raided shops selling substandard plastic bags. This is the first such raid in three years.

Life for the residents of Siri Nagar in Hassan has become miserable as the City Municipal Council dumps garbage in a five-acre area there. Every day, 3.5 tonnes of garbage is collected in the city. But it lacks a scientific system to dispose it of. Even cattle are allowed to graze in the dumping site. The authorities have not taken steps to create awareness among the people about the ill effects of the use of plastic bags. The failure to dispose of plastic bags scientifically will result in health hazards. Hassan city has open drains. Stray cattle are also plenty in number.

If plastic bags are thrown into the drains, they will obstruct the flow of water and thus, drains become breeding centres for mosquitoes. Pigs too roam freely. Both pigs and mosquitoes are known to cause brain fever in human beings. Environmentalist-turned journalist Shiva Kumar Kanasogi said plastic sheets/bags have a longer lifetime. They do not decay even after 200 years. Water will not penetrate the earth under the plastic bag, and so also fertilizers. The Supreme Court has banned the use of plastic bags of less than 20 microns. The Environment Department may raid shops but it is the Deputy Commissioner who has to implement the ban order. Unless action is taken against the sale of plastic bags, the problem will not be solved, Dr. Kanasogi said. Plastic sheets are manufactured out of chemicals. Whenever plastic bags are recycled, they cause more problems. Lead, copper and mercury are used and these material do not dissolve easily in water. This is the reason why plastic covers do not decay even after 200 years. If hot eatables are put in a plastic bag, then lead will dissolve into them leading to health hazards if such eatables are consumed, Dr. Kanasogi said.

When contacted by The Hindu, Raju, Commissioner, City Municipal Council, said the council will shortly commission garbage disposal plants. He said he has instructed private and government hospitals to set up their own garbage disposal units.

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