Singdie bouba MARUIS
On Monday April 25, the departmental delegate for the environment and the protection of nature and sustainable development gave an interview to our editorial staff in this interview Mr. SINGDIE BOUBA MARUIS speaks about the situation of plastic packaging under 61 microns in the department of Vina and their impact on the environment by reiterating its call for the preservation of nature.
INTERVIEW
Reporter : The departmental delegate for the environment, nature protection and sustainable development What is the situation of plastic packaging of less than 61 microns in Cameroon and in the Department of Vina in particular?
First of all, thank you for your interest in environmental issues and specifically in the issue of plastic packaging. To come back to your question, you should know that plastic packaging with a thickness of less than 61 microns remains prohibited throughout Cameroon. Regarding the Department of Wine for which I am responsible, we note that these non-compliant packaging are gradually giving way to compliant packaging. It is true that some pockets of resistance persist, but we are not giving up. Our teams are permanently deployed in the field for repression. You understand that in the Department of Vina, the fight against packaging less than 61 microns thick continues.
Reporter: The departmental delegate for the environment, nature protection and sustainable development What may be the impacts of this packaging on the environment
Research results sufficiently show that plastics can cause extensive damage to the environment as well as to human and animal health.
Their impact on the environment is therefore considerable:
• When they hang out in nature, they cause fundamental problems of public health and soil fertility.
• Moreover, it is the most visible garbage in the streets and in public landfills, both in towns and in small towns. From a sanitation perspective, plastic waste reduces visual aesthetics and poses a risk of flooding when it clogs gutters. Occasionally, plastic waste is burned, which also results in air pollution thus increasing greenhouse gases on the environment leading to global warming.
• The pollution of inland waters and oceans by plastics is also not to be overlooked. In fact, with the water receding, we see that large areas of the riverbed are invaded by plastic bags. The latter are either carried by the flow of water from the gutters or carried by the wind. This presents harmful effects for marine flora and fauna.
• Animals are not spared from this plastic pollution. A significant number of animal deaths in the northern part of Cameroon are caused by plastics. Animals that forage in piles of garbage in search of food sometimes swallow the plastic bags that will get stuck in their guts, blocking their digestive systems and causing death.
In terms of impacts on human health, plastic packaging causes a number of health problems:
• Water accumulating in these plastics creates a breeding ground for mosquitoes and bacteria that cause malaria, a major cause of death in Cameroon.
Concurring studies show that Bisphenol A, one of the polystyrene byproducts mostly used to line the inside of some cans, cans and baby bottles is harmful to humans. Their simultaneous presence in the body can trigger major hormonal pathologies (breast or prostate cancer, etc.) and congenital malformations.
• Air pollution by burning plastic waste also releases Persistent Organic Pollutants which are sources of cancer and birth defects.
Reporter:
M. Departmental delegate for the environment, nature protection and sustainable development Non-compliant plastic packaging continues to circulate in the markets, what explains this state of affairs?
Your observation is not wrong. We have also underlined it. Non-compliant packaging is resisting in some of our markets. In reality, this situation can be explained mainly by the porosity of our borders. You are aware that most of this non-compliant packaging comes from certain neighboring countries. To this, we can also add the incivism of some of our fellow citizens who persist in using this banned packaging.
The departmental delegate for the environment, nature protection and sustainable development What is the state of play of compliant plastic packaging, that is to say those with a thickness of more than 61 microns?
Overall, we observe that populations are gradually adapting to the use of alternatives to plastic packaging with a thickness of less than 61 microns. These include, but are not limited to, paper packaging, fabric packaging, leaves of certain plant species, metal packaging and even plastic packaging thicker than 61 microns. This last category is increasingly flooding the markets of our department. We also encourage any initiative aimed at promoting alternatives to plastic packaging less than 61 microns thick.
M. The departmental delegate for the environment, nature protection and sustainable development Are the recovery mechanisms for this packaging respected?
Activities related to plastic packaging are regulated. Indeed, the import, production, marketing and distribution of plastic packaging are conditional on obtaining an environmental permit. This environmental permit comes with specifications that all applicants must meet. Among other requirements, operators must implement a system for recovering waste from their packaging. So far, the recovery mechanisms have been respected as best they can.
Reporter:
We are coming to the end of our exchange, a final word of the end?
Thank you for stopping by
I think the biggest challenge people face today in this pandemic context concerns environmental issues and the you have given me the opportunity to make our populations more aware of the importance of protecting the environment. environment. I hope that they will contribute and invite other more numerous relatives to participate in this activity which is useful to all.
By Adamawa Correspondent
