Polythenes to be thickened to avert pollution: WBPCB

Kolkata, Apr 22 (UNI) With a view to making the state a greener and better place to live, the West Bengal Pollution Control Board (WBPCB) has declared to come up with some initiatives.

Talking to reporters at the Green Biz Quiz, a corporate quiz on environment management, WBPCB member secretary Debal Roy said, the Board had decided to increase the thickness of the polythenes.

Polythenes lead to blockage of drains and hence add to several other problems like water-logging during the rainy season, he said.

''We have decided to increase the thickness to 40 microns from the existing 20 microns as these will be easily picked by the ragpickers, who in turn will get some more incentives also,'' he added.

''The thick plastics are also easy to recycle,'' he said adding, ''Polythenes have posed a great threat to environment as these are not degradable.'' ''The small plastics, accumulated in the soil years after years, lead to the infertility of soil as these contain certain toxic substances,'' he said.

He futher said burning polythene bags below 7000 degrees Celsius release dioxin and hydrogen cyanide, the most carcinogenic and toxic substances, which on inhalation cause severe and chronic health problems, he added.

Besides, Mr Roy said, ''The need of the hour is water havesting and harnessing. While the latter could not be implemented in Kolkata due to the faulty sewerage and drain system, harvesting would be made mandatory for buildings with area more than 20000 sq mt.'' About 18 teams participated in the quiz, including CESC, HSBC, SembRanky and WBSEB and Pepsi Co.

UNI