Open letter from Editor-in-Chief on Go Green campaign

Plastic is a killer

Non-biodegradable, omnipresent and fatal to animals, every piece of plastic ever made may still exist today.

According to Mustafa Khamis, assistant professor of biology and chemistry at the American University of Sharjah, not many people are aware of the serious implications: "Plastic is everywhere and affects us in ways we do not even realise."

Top of the list is cancer. Khamis said further research is necessary to ascertain plastic's impact on human health.

But a recent study published by the American Association for Cancer Research showed that chemicals in plastic stimulate the growth of cancer-causing cells.

Toxins from seemingly harmless plastic items enter the human body stealthily and end up in saliva and breast milk.

A regular glass of water, for instance, may be the source of plastic chemicals in the body.

Bisophenol A (BPA) is one such harmful chemical. It is used in the production of heavier plastic packaging, such as those used for food and milk storage, container linings and water supply pipes.

Added to this is the impact of used plastic after it has been dumped.

According to Khamis, bacteria cannot degrade plastic once it has returned to the environment. But through a process of photodegradation, ultraviolet rays from the sun break down plastic and create chemical by-products over a period of time, which can be extremely harmful when the toxins seep into groundwater.

"Plastic contains chemicals made from petroleum, and metallic chemicals such as antimony, which may be carcinogenic when exposed to groundwater," he said.

Much in the way tea seeps into water from a tea bag, antimony leaks through plastic materials to pollute water.

But it is not just food and water that are affected. Ever seen images of cute, gurgling toddlers biting their favourite plastic toys? There's something wrong with that picture.

Phthalates are notorious chemical additives that make plastic flexible and soft and are often found in child-care products such as soft baby books and rattles. Over-exposure to phthalates is known to cause genital abnormalities in men and women. In fact, it was considered so dangerous that the European Union recently banned them in the production of children's toys.

Researchers say at key stages of development, a seemingly minute dose of a hormone-altering chemical such as BPA or phthalates may be life-altering.

What this means is that everyone may have been exposed to chemicals from plastic in the womb already, long before birth.

In 2005, an extensive research paper published in the American government journal Environment Health Perspectives said both chemicals were gaining a reputation for being endocrine disrupters. Simply put, they completely upset the functioning of several important hormones in the body.

From stimulating the growth of mammary and prostate cancer cells to altering hormones and creating subtle abnormalities, chemicals from plastic even have the frightening potential to change DNA or genetic make-up.

Surrounded by plastic, be it in computers, perfumes or even in clothes, people are constantly exposed to hormone-altering chemicals, but do not realise the extent of the damage they can cause.

UAE-based environmental scientist Mohammad Abu Al Aish said: "Early exposure to plastic can have effects that are revealed much later in life, and because not enough research has been done to warn people about it, the subject is being taken very lightly."

The easiest way out seems to be to find out how plastic enters the body, and then to prevent it from doing so.

Unfortunately, it is not that simple.

Abu Al Aish explained: "Due to our carelessness, plastic is now affecting the base of the food chain, where food for all life organisms begin. There can be nothing more critical than this for human survival."

The aquatic food chain particularly is in hot water. Studies conducted in 2001 by the Algalita Marine Research Foundation, a non-profit organisation based in California, showed that in parts of the northern Pacific Ocean, there were six times more plastic debris than zooplankton. The small bits of plastic that remain after photodegradation are called nurdles or mermaid tears.

"Fish eat plankton, but when there is more plastic than plankton in the water, they may confuse it for food and eat it instead," Abu Al Aish said.

More often than not, plastic has fatal consequences for marine creatures.

The United Nations Environment Programme found that every year, plastic is accountable for the death of more than a million seabirds and more than 100,000 aquatic mammals such as whales, dolphins and seals.

It is no wonder that some of the world's animals are rapidly moving toward extinction.

Aaron Bartholomew, assistant professor of biology at the American University of Sharjah, considers plastic bags one of the greatest killers at sea. "Many endangered species of sea turtles mistake plastic bags for jellyfish. Once they swallow it, the bags block their digestive tract and they starve to death," he said.

With thousands and thousands of plastic bags, packaging and products being manufactured and thrown away every day, the idea that a floating plastic island exists in the northern Pacific Ocean is almost not surprising.

But what about the fact that this massive plastic wasteland is twice the size of the American state of Texas and is steadily destroying marine life as it is known?

Mankind continues to be surprised by the far reaches of its errors.

One thing is for sure: plastic is a killer.

Impact on life: High price to pay

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  Chemicals in plastic stimulate the growth of cancer-causing cells, especially prostate and breast cancers.
  
• 
  Toxins from plastic leach into drinking water and reach human saliva.
  
• 
   When plastic breaks down, it releases chemicals such as antimony that seeps into groundwater.
  
• 
  Chemical additives in plastic toys that make it flexible are known to cause genetic abnormalities in children.
  

JEDDAH, 25 May 2008 — Prince Turki ibn Nasser, president of the Presidency of Meteorology and Environment (PME), launched the official website for the First Arab Conference and Expedition for Environmental Laws in Jeddah yesterday.

In his remarks on the occasion, Prince Turki called for environmental policing to enforce regulations to protect the environment.

The upcoming conference, scheduled for July under the support of Crown Prince Sultan, is organized by the PME in cooperation with the League of Arab States and the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP).

The conference, which has as its theme “Environmental Laws: A World Commitment to Protect Our Environment and Future Generations,” will be held at the King Faisal Conference Hall in Riyadh.

Prominent experts in the fields of environment, law, government and the private sector, as well as regional and international organizations, are expected to take part in discussions in an attempt to analyze the state of the environment in the Arab world.

The discussions aim to focus on the weakness or absence of environmental protection laws in the region in order to reinforce, develop and implement the laws.

Prince Turki said that this could be done by forcing sanctions on violators and expanding corporation between statutory and executive bodies within Arab states. Environmental policies must be implemented and there must be a mechanism, such as environmental policing, to do so.

Prince Turki said that the conference would focus on environmental issues in the region in addition to encouraging countries that have not signed international environmental and natural resources protection agreements to do so.

“We aim to close the existing gap,” he said, adding that in addition environmental protection laws must be developed in coordination with international organizations.

Prince Turki praised the conference, referring to it as unique international cooperation to protect human health and the environment in order to achieve sustainable development for future generations.

The conference will focus on international environmental laws and the part they play in sustainable development, he added.

The conference will review environmental protection laws currently in force in various Arab countries and discuss ways to develop them in order to achieve conformity with global requirements and international agreements and conventions, the prince said.

The conference also aims to highlight the positive roles of environmental protection laws and regulations in a country’s economic activities and sustainable development. Participants will discuss both positive and negative experiences in Arab countries.

A workshop will be held on the sidelines of the conference as also an exhibition featuring the latest available environmental technology.

http://www.arabnews.com/?page=1§ion=0&article=110219&d=25&m=5&y=2008

Hotel Launches Environmental Initiative

JEDDAH, 24 May 2008 — Today, there is an increasing need to wisely utilize our resources. One of the greatest challenges that we face is maintaining or improving that environmental base.

Recycling is a key component in maintaining or improving the local environment. Not only does recycling make good economic sense, but it also demonstrates to the guests and the community a sense of good ethics.

Recycling is one element in the process of addressing the growing problem of municipal solid waste. Recycling means valuable materials that would otherwise be discarded are collected, remanufactured and reused. The idea of resource recovery and reuse is a key element in the modern concept of sustainable development.

While such measures can be taken at various levels, such as factories, offices and even homes, the hospitality industry worldwide is not lagging behind in recycling used products and disposables. A local hotel has done it.

Sheraton Jeddah Hotel has set the ball rolling locally with its recent introduction of a recycling scheme where all reusable materials including plastic, aluminum, glass, paper and wood coming from the guestrooms, food and beverage outlets and other areas are being collected at specially built recycling stations.

“I am not aware of any other local hotel doing this so this is the first of its kind here,” Edwin Wijkhuys, general manager of Sheraton Jeddah Hotel, told Arab News. “It was easy to set up the collection stations in the hotel with the staff in various departments separating the materials at source and then giving to a local company for recycling. Ironically, it was more difficult for us to identify this company at first, but now they collect the materials and sell them to be reused,” he said.

“The company gives us a share of the money, which we give to charity,” he added. Apart from the environmental factor, our recycling has also reduced the number of containers of garbage that we send out — about nearly seven containers a month, he said. “It also impacts on the cost and we are doing our bit for the cause,” he said.

The hotel organized the recycling launch with a showing of the movie “An Inconvenient Truth.” After the movie, Wijkhuys and Hotel Chief Engineer Mohamad Sarwar formally inaugurated the recycling stations.

“While recycling may still be unknown in Saudi Arabia, the effects of global warming and a deteriorating environment are only too obvious both in Jeddah and in the home countries of many of the hotel associates,” Wijkhuys said, adding that after the implementation of the waste water treatment and reuse of waste water in the hotel gardens, this was the second major environmental initiative taken by the hotel.

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23 May 2008

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