Nylon-net shopping bags
Photo: STAR
Parveen's article on the subject (Nov:5) equates nylon-net shopping bags with paper shopping packets made from recycled fertiliser and cement bags. All these are classed as dangerous for health. However, the health hazards are not clearly spelled out with details, nor is there any dependable reference in support of the statement; beyond stating that toxic residues of these containers are a hazard to public health! Small wonder, small traders using these convenient shopping containers are unaware of these issues. They are unfortunately not provided with a simple clarification on the possibilities of health hazards resulting from using these materials. However, water seepage and its environmental effect on water percolation is not true for nylon-net bags; for the simple reason that these are totally porous, offering practically no resistance to water seepage. However, bags made from polyethylene and nylon sheets are impervious and act as a barrier to water seepage; which could adversely effect ground water percolation through subsoil matter. A better way of utilising these contaminated fertliser and cement bags and other non-degradable chemical fibre based packaging material, including nylon and polyethylene bags, would be to mix them with solid wastes and refuse; mix with some used cooking and lubricating oil and press it into fuel briquettes for burning. A Nepalese innovator, Kaji Sherestha, has successfully done this in Nepal. He has been nominated for the 2007 World Challenge Award as a successful innovative project initiator! We could do well to adopt this simple and interesting idea in Bangladesh; particularly in urban areas; given the lack of coverage of natural gas network in many urban localities. As a matter of fact, used cooking oil is a proven source of cancer! Unknowingly we use it by adding it to fresh cooking oil as a common household economical measure. Public awareness of this potential threat of cancer must be created in the interest of national public health.
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