{"id":9340,"date":"2018-07-04T07:36:29","date_gmt":"2018-07-04T07:36:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.iwacu-burundi.org\/englishnews\/?p=9340"},"modified":"2018-07-04T11:22:58","modified_gmt":"2018-07-04T11:22:58","slug":"environmentalist-calls-for-use-of-biodegradable-materials-to-safeguard-environment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.iwacu-burundi.org\/englishnews\/environmentalist-calls-for-use-of-biodegradable-materials-to-safeguard-environment\/","title":{"rendered":"Environmentalist calls for use of biodegradable materials to safeguard environment"},"content":{"rendered":"

While the world celebrates the Plastic Bag Free Day every July 03 to raise the awareness of the impact non-biodegradable plastic bags and bottles have on the environment, plastic materials are still seen everywhere in Bujumbura town. <\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Plastic

Plastic bags and bottles at \u201cKumase\u201d near Lake Tanganyika<\/p><\/div>\n

In the western part of Bujumbura at the place commonly known as \u201cKumase\u201d, one detects disgusting smells. Channels are clogged up with plastic bottles and bags a few meters from Lake Tanganyika.
\nThe same situation is observed in different places of the city. At the place known as \u201cCercle Hippique\u201d in Rohero area, there are tons of rubbish with plastic bags and bottles. They can also be seen on the roads in different areas of the city.<\/p>\n

Some people ignore the impact of these plastics bags on the environment. Jos\u00e9phine Nyabenda, a woman aged 40, says she uses plastic bags but adds that she has never thought about their negative impact on the environment. \u201cAs they are sold in the markets, I buy and use them like other people\u201d.
\nMwamini Irakoze, a fifty-year-old woman met near \u201cCercle Hippique\u201d says she is aware of the impact of plastic bags on the planet but adds that there is no other alternative as non-plastic bags are not available on the market. \u201cWe know plastic bags are non-biodegradable. We have no other alternative but to use them,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Jacques Nkengurutse, an environmentalist, says, plastic bags ruin the aesthetic beauty of the environment apart from being harmful. \u201cPlastic bags are not biodegradable. All the used plastic containers are seen on the lake or its shores\u2026Moreover, apart from being harmful to the environment, a beach with a hundreds of plastic bottles and bags all around it cannot look attractive,\u201d he says.
\nThis environmentalist calls for everybody\u2019s responsibility to protect the environment against the harmful plastics. \u201cEveryone in general and the government in particular should take their responsibility to protect the environment by shunning the use of plastic materials,\u201d he says adding that decision makers should adopt policies to encourage the use of biodegradable bags and the recycling methods.<\/p>\n

He also encourages Burundi to follow the example of some countries that have already banned the use of plastic bags.<\/p>\n

The International Plastic Bag Free Day is an opportunity to spread the word that a plastic bag free world is possible and that sound environmental alternatives to single use plastic bags are available so as to build a future free from plastic pollution.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

While the world celebrates the Plastic Bag Free Day every July 03 to raise the awareness of the impact non-biodegradable plastic bags and bottles have on the environment, plastic materials are still seen everywhere in Bujumbura town. In the western part of Bujumbura at the place commonly known as \u201cKumase\u201d, one detects disgusting smells. Channels […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":22,"featured_media":9343,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[10,670],"tags":[108,111],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.iwacu-burundi.org\/englishnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9340"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.iwacu-burundi.org\/englishnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.iwacu-burundi.org\/englishnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.iwacu-burundi.org\/englishnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/22"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.iwacu-burundi.org\/englishnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9340"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.iwacu-burundi.org\/englishnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9340\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9344,"href":"https:\/\/www.iwacu-burundi.org\/englishnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9340\/revisions\/9344"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.iwacu-burundi.org\/englishnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9343"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.iwacu-burundi.org\/englishnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9340"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.iwacu-burundi.org\/englishnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9340"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.iwacu-burundi.org\/englishnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9340"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}