REDUCING THE USE OF STYROFOAM CONTAINERS
The
Ministry of Development through the Department of Environment, Parks
and Recreation (JASTRe) has launched a campaign in conjunction with
World Environment Day 2013 celebration to reduce the use of styrofoam
containers in Brunei Darussalam to lessen the amount of solid waste,
while at the same time, reducing the risk of potential health hazards
that may come from styrofoam products.
As
an initial stage of the campaign, JASTRe has advised schools in the
country to reduce the use of styrofoam containers in their respective
canteens.
There are three schools
namely Sekolah Menengah Sayyidina Hasan, Maktab Duli Pengiran Muda
Al-Muhtadee Billah and Pusat Tingkatan Enam Katok that have been
successful in encouraging people to make use of reusable containers and
turning away from those made from styrofoam.
Styrofoam
is a trade name for polystyrene, which is made of petrol – a
non-renewable resource. According to the Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) in 1986, the production process of polystyrene is the fifth
largest hazardous waste producer. Styrofoam is a material that does not
decompose easily and is resistant to photolysis, a process of
decomposition by the action of light. It will take more than 500 years
to decay.
Producing styrofoam leads to
about 57 types of toxic materials that not only pollute the air but it
also produce solid waste and sewage sludge that needs to be properly
disposed. Styrofoam manufacturing uses 'hydrofluorocarbons' (HFCs) which
negatively affects the ozone layer and global warming. HFCs are less
detrimental to the ozone than CFCs, which they replaced in the
manufacturing of Styrofoam, but it is thought that the impact of HFCs on
global warming is much more serious. Due to the lightweight structure
that causes the styrofoam to easily drift to sea, rivers and irrigation,
they are classified as 'marine debris' by many countries in the world.
