BaxterStorey's innovative approach to Food waste management

Adrienne Cohen describes the nationwide programme of recycling food waste into green energy set up by BaxterStorey, one of the UK’s leading catering companies.

by Adrienne Cohen

Waste is an unavoidable by-product of delivering food services. A breathtaking 3.5 million tonnes of food waste from the UK hospitality sector goes into landfill sites every year. Caterers have ‘greened’ their services in recent years with sustainable produce and recycled packaging, but the issue of waste management is becoming an increasingly hot topic. 

BaxterStorey’s view

One example of a company looking to manage its burden more effectively is BaxterStorey, one of the UK’s leading independent food service management companies. The company prepares and serves over 25 million freshly prepared meals every year in staff restaurants throughout the UK to clients including Barclays, Selfridges, ITV and Virgin Atlantic Airways.

Mike Hanson, Head of Sustainability and Environmental Management at BaxterStorey, agrees that the catering industry needs to pay greater attention to the role of food waste management in its overall approach to sustainability and vitally, profitability. ‘Sustainable practice that involves precise waste management practice in the workplace kitchen, and sound economic management is a strong proposition for caterers and their clients to consider. The current climate dictates that all businesses must be operating in all aspects in a manner sensitive to the environment, and also in a fashion that makes the most fiscal prudence for their survival. Landfill taxes have risen astronomically, and the recent budget announced that landfill tax is set to double again from the current £40 per tonne to £80 within three years. This is a cost that catering operations are going to have to get their heads around controlling quickly.’

Mike Hanson believes that the hospitality industry has a great opportunity to be seen to be doing more than simply complying with waste regulations. ‘As a significant contributor to the food waste mountain, catering providers must focus more intently on food waste management and avoid sending food waste to landfill wherever possible. The range of options for dealing with food waste is expanding all the time and innovation in this area is also showing itself to deliver practical and affordable actions which can be readily implemented.’

For BaxterStorey, waste management – and in particular food waste management – is a key tenet of its overall sustainability practice. The company has won a series of awards for its sustainable behaviour and, in 2009, became the first company in its sector to launch a nationwide programme of recycling food waste into green energy. Its launch, explains Mike Hanson, was not simple. ‘We operate from more than 700 sites across the UK and finding a local solution to manage each site’s food waste was a complex issue. In an ideal world we’d compost all of our food waste and we do have a series of partnerships with local facilities where such a solution is in use. However we have not been able to make use of composting on a broad scale simply because not every site has a local facility for this to be an achievable goal.’

BaxterStorey chose a waste to renewable energy programme as a national service over composting as it made more operational sense for them. As Mike Hanson explains, ‘We were able to partner with a specialist whose own network made it a sensible option for us to use the bio-energy route. Frankly, we’d be undoing all the good we were hoping to achieve by composting if we were having to road haul the waste across long stretches to find a suitable unit in which we could manage the process.’

Converting food waste to biofuel

Working with PDM Group, one of the UK’s largest food chain by-product recyclers, BaxterStorey began a trial in September 2008 to recycle waste food from the kitchens it operates into biofuel. The trial was so successful that within six months the project was rolled out making the service available to all clients. To date, 230 tonnes of food waste have been recycled into 57 MWh of renewable energy, enabling 50 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuel use to be displaced.

The service has now been implemented at 10 % of all sites and BaxterStorey is hopeful that the pace of roll-out will increase over the coming months. The biggest issue the company faces in extending the programme’s reach is client understanding of the issue, and the ability for them to see this as not simply another cost. As Mike Hanson points out, ‘We operate the kitchens on behalf of our clients and, while we encourage all of our clients to use alternative waste management streams, ultimately the decision is theirs.’

BaxterStorey has embarked on a joint communications programme with PDM Group to help clients understand the benefits of the service. Clients’ initial reactions are positive but, when they consider the operational process, many hesitate about instituting it. ‘The fear of rotting food in bins remaining on the site and the complication of more than one waste operator collecting from their site is a real barrier for many, even though we can prove that these issues are easily surmountable.’

Where the service is used, food waste is separated at source using small kitchen caddies which are then emptied into in larger bins outside the kitchen. The PDM system enables BaxterStorey’s staff to capture all its food waste, explains PDM’s Commercial Director, Philip Simpson. ‘Our innovative process enables caterers to recycle all types of food waste with no additional work other than putting it in a separate bin. We can handle raw meats and fish, which would need to be cooked even to go to landfill, and packaged food, which can also go straight into our bins that we can separate in our de-pack unit.’

PDM offers BaxterStorey a dedicated service, collecting bins when needed – be it daily, three times a week, or just weekly. As PDM’s service is national, it takes the waste to its nearest sites where it is bulked up with other food waste from retailers, hotels and restaurants. The waste is then taken to PDM’s integrated renewable energy and recycling plant in Widnes – the first facility of its kind in the world.

Once the food arrives at the facility it passes through a de-packaging unit where it is separated from tins, cartons and plastics. It is then mulched into a puree which is used as a wet fuel for the facility’s combined heat and power (CHP) plant. ‘This carbon neutral process can recycle more than 200,000 tonnes of food waste a year into enough energy to power approximately 16,000 homes. The added environmental benefit is there is no by-product, other than electricity, so there is no risk of creating another waste stream,’ adds Philip Simpson.

Anaerobic digestion added

Over the next 12 months, some of BaxterStorey’s food waste will be turned into renewable energy by anaerobic digestion (AD) as a new digester at PDM’s Doncaster site becomes fully operational. This technology is seeing great uptake from retailers. Philip Simpson says, ‘Anaerobic digestion is probably the greenest form of food waste recycling technology currently available.’ The technology is seeing significant government support, with AD projects eligible to access millions of pounds of funding.?The PDM anaerobic digester can process around 45,000 tonnes of food waste per year, generating 2 MW of renewable energy and providing enough power for some 4000 homes. The digester will also produce 40,000 tonnes of nutrient-rich fertiliser each year for use by local farmers.

Persuading caterers to recycle food waste

As the range of alternative routes to landfill grows and become more accessible, why isn’t the catering industry responding to the need to manage the disposal of waste food in a more effective manner and help reduce the food waste mountain they contribute to? Along with the well-worn response that more education is needed, Mike Hanson says, ‘At the bottom of everything caterers are business people. You need to appeal to their financial instinct to drive change.’

While the impact of soaring landfill tax is sure to make some open their eyes, Mike Hanson believes that this alone will not galvanise the majority to make rapid change. ‘Landfill tax has been rising at an excessive rate for some years now and this still has not spurred significant action. We manage waste carefully at BaxterStorey because we believe it’s the ethical thing to do – but we’re in a minority. If a stronger commercial tag can be placed on the issue then we’ll get there faster.’

Mike Hanson cites the need for waste management partners to give their clients more financial incentive to support a shift in the mindset. ‘There is an excellent opportunity to pitch waste being turned into bio-energy as a revenue driver to the caterer. If the processor splits revenues from sale of energy to the utility houses more generously, they’ll grow demand far more quickly.’

He adds that taking a bottom line approach may certainly be what makes many listen initially, but an even more creative route that processing partners should be considering is to help the caterers grow their businesses and become partners in the truest sense to their clients. This is what he’d like to see in the longer term. ‘From provenance to food miles, Fairtrade to organic, consumer awareness of all sustainability-focused food issues is on the up. Food processing companies should seize on this. Splitting revenue from the sale of green energy from food waste so that the caterer can donate the revenue to charitable or community causes is a really strong marketing message that the end client can use, and one that encourages consumers and businesses to buy products and services.’

This is especially true for contract caterers whose blue chip clients are obliged to report on corporate social responsibility. Mike Hanson concludes, ‘The more we can assist our clients’ ability to meet their CSR goals, the better. If processing partners work more closely with caterers to help them attract greater business, the result is going to be a win for all – more catering demand, more waste and more waste management.’

Water Pollution

When toxic substances enter lakes, streams, rivers, oceans, and other water bodies, they get dissolved or lie suspended in water or get deposited on the bed. This results in the pollution of water whereby the quality of the water deteriorates, affecting aquatic ecosystems. Pollutants can also seep down and affect the groundwater deposits.

Water pollution has many sources. The most polluting of them are the city sewage and industrial waste discharged into the rivers. The facilities to treat waste water are not adequate in any city in India. Presently, only about 10% of the waste water generated is treated; the rest is discharged as it is into our water bodies. Due to this, pollutants enter groundwater, rivers, and other water bodies. Such water, which ultimately ends up in our households, is often highly contaminated and carries disease-causing microbes. Agricultural run-off, or the water from the fields that drains into rivers, is another major water pollutant as it contains fertilizers and pesticides.

Domestic sewage refers to waste water that is discarded from households. Also referred to as sanitary sewage, such water contains a wide variety of dissolved and suspended impurities. 

It amounts to a very small fraction of the sewage by weight. But it is large by volume and contains impurities such as organic materials and plant nutrients that tend to rot. The main organic materials are food and vegetable waste, plant nutrient come from chemical soaps, washing powders, etc. Domestic sewage is also very likely to contain disease-causing microbes. Thus, disposal of domestic waste water is a significant technical problem. Sewage generated from the urban areas in India has multiplied manifold since 1947.

Today, many people dump their garbage into streams, lakes, rivers, and seas, thus making water bodies the final resting place of cans, bottles, plastics, and other household products. The various substances that we use for keeping our houses clean add to water pollution as they contain harmful chemicals. In the past, people mostly used soaps made from animal and vegetable fat for all types of washing. But most of today’s cleaning products are synthetic detergents and come from the petrochemical industry. Most detergents and washing powders contain phosphates, which are used to soften the water among other things. These and other chemicals contained in washing powders affect the health of all forms of life in the water. 

Biochemical oxygen demand, or BOD 

The amount of organic material that can rot in the sewage is measured by the biochemical oxygen demand. BOD is the amount of oxygen required by micro-organisms to decompose the organic substances in sewage. Therefore, the more organic material there is in the sewage, the higher the BOD. It is among the most important parameters for the design and operation of sewage treatment plants. BOD levels of industrial sewage may be many times that of domestic sewage. Dissolved oxygen is an important factor that determines the quality of water in lakes and rivers. The higher the concentration of dissolved oxygen, the better the water quality. When sewage enters a lake or stream, micro-organisms begin to decompose the organic materials. Oxygen is consumed as micro-organisms use it in their metabolism. This can quickly deplete the available oxygen in the water. When the dissolved oxygen levels drop too low, many aquatic species perish. In fact, if the oxygen level drops to zero, the water will become septic. When organic compounds decompose without oxygen, it gives rise to the undesirable odours usually associated with septic or putrid conditions.

Agricultural Run off

The use of land for agriculture and the practices followed in cultivation greatly affect the quality of groundwater. Intensive cultivation of crops causes chemicals from fertilizers (e.g. nitrate) and pesticides to seep into the groundwater, a process commonly known as leaching. Routine applications of fertilizers and pesticides for agriculture and indiscriminate disposal of industrial and domestic wastes are increasingly being recognized as significant sources of water pollution.

The high nitrate content in groundwater is mainly from irrigation run-off from agricultural fields where chemical fertilizers have been used indiscriminately. 

Eutrophication 

 

When fresh water is artificially supplemented with nutrients, it results in an abnormal increase in the growth of water plants. This is known as eutrophication. The discharge of waste from industries, agriculture, and urban communities into water bodies generally stretches the biological capacities of aquatic systems. Chemical run-off from fields also adds nutrients to water. Excess nutrients cause the water body to become choked with organic substances and organisms. When organic matter exceeds the capacity of the micro-organisms in water that break down and recycle the organic matter, it encourages rapid growth, or blooms, of algae. When they die, the remains of the algae add to the organic wastes already in the water; eventually, the water becomes deficient in oxygen. Anaerobic organisms (those that do not require oxygen to live) then attack the organic wastes, releasing gases such as methane and hydrogen sulphide, which are harmful to the oxygen-requiring (aerobic) forms of life. The result is a foul-smelling, waste-filled body of water. This has already occurred in such places as Lake Erie and the Baltic Sea, and is a growing problem in freshwater lakes all over India. Eutrophication can produce problems such as bad tastes and odours as well as green scum algae. Also the growth of rooted plants increases, which decreases the amount of oxygen in the deepest waters of the lake. It also leads to the death of all forms of life in the water bodies.

Industrial effluents

 

Waste water from manufacturing or chemical processes in industries contributes to water pollution. Industrial waste water usually contains specific and readily identifiable chemical compounds. During the last fifty years, the number of industries in India has grown rapidly. But water pollution is concentrated within a few subsectors, mainly in the form of toxic wastes and organic pollutants. Out of this a large portion can be traced to the processing of industrial chemicals and to the food products industry. In fact, a number of large- and medium-sized industries in the region covered by the Ganga Action Plan do not have adequate effluent treatment facilities. Most of these defaulting industries are sugar mills, distilleries, leather processing industries, and thermal power stations. Most major industries have treatment facilities for industrial effluents. But this is not the case with small-scale industries, which cannot afford enormous investments in pollution control equipment as their profit margin is very slender.

Effects of water pollution 

The effects of water pollution are not only devastating to people but also to animals, fish, and birds. Polluted water is unsuitable for drinking, recreation, agriculture, and industry. It diminishes the aesthetic quality of lakes and rivers. More seriously, contaminated water destroys aquatic life and reduces its reproductive ability. Eventually, it is a hazard to human health. Nobody can escape the effects of water pollution.

The individual and the community can help minimize water pollution. By simple housekeeping and management practices the amount of waste generated can be minimized.

Wasting Away: Natural Resources and the Environment

We are totally dependent on natural resources. Everything we have or use is made of natural resources, or raw materials and energy obtained from the environment. The clothes you're wearing, the chair you're sitting on, your house and TV and school and books, the school bus, city streets, whatever you ate for breakfast, and the package your breakfast came in are made of  natural resources. Natural resources sustain human life.

Non-renewable resources include oil and gas, soil and water, and minerals like iron and aluminium. They are found  in strictly limited quantities on our planet and are not replenished by natural processes (except in geological time frames of millions of years). Renewable natural resources include things like trees which can be replenished or  will grow again. However, even these are available in finite quantities. Trees, for example, can only grow so fast.  Sunlight and wind are the only natural resources available in essentially limitless amounts. And, although it's not  the kind of "event" that makes front-page news, many scientists think that depletion of natural resources is one  of the biggest problems our society will face in the twenty-first century.

Our use of natural resources affects the environment in many ways. Our use of natural resources has impacts that go far beyond simply using materials that are in limited supply.  The environment is affected at every stage of the chain of extraction-processing-manufacturing-marketing-consumption-disposal.

The harvesting of raw natural resources directly  impacts the environment through mining, timber cutting, construction of dams, and the like. Then the raw materials must be made into a usable form, such as metallic ores into more pure metals. This is an energy-intensive process that typically results in air and water pollution as well as unwanted or even toxic by-products. Next, to produce specific consumer products like clothes, camcorders, or skateboards, further manufacturing processes are needed. These manufacturing processes also use energy and often generate pollution. Then the final consumer products need to be transported and stored, which again  involves additional inputs of energy and materials and has further environmental impacts.

Finally, the products must be packaged and marketed to us, the public. This involves still more natural resource use and more environmental impacts related to packaging materials, billboards, print ads, and so on.  Packaging and advertising contribute significantly to the cost of a product and to its overall environmental impact as well.  In the United States, discarded packaging materials alone account for about 35% of household trash.  Print advertising in catalogues, fliers, magazines, and newspapers also contributes significantly to household trash.

When we actually purchase an end product, is the chain of impact finally complete? Not yet! If using the product we have bought requires gasoline, batteries, or electricity, the production and use of these generates more pollution.

At some point, whatever the item - be it a few ounces of packaging that holds a fast-food meal for two minutes, or a two-ton automobile that lasts for years - we throw it away. But really, there is no "away."  Something must be done with the stuff we no longer want. That can cause problems. A lot of our trash is just plain dangerous. Even common household products like paint, batteries, and cleaning supplies are often toxic. Also, the sheer volume of trash we produce is a problem in itself.

In some parts of the U.S., trash is incinerated or burned.  Incineration produces air pollution, and the ash left behind is toxic.  In other areas, trash is buried in landfills.  That has problems, too. Landfills require huge tracts of land. Pollution problems often develop around older landfills. Newer landfills are built to stricter health and environmental standards. However, both landfills and incinerator ash must be carefully monitored for hundreds of years into the future.

How much is enough? Of course, some products we buy are necessary to our health and well-being, or improve the quality of our lives. We need clothes and stoves and so on. And who would want to give up books and music and other things the enrich our lives? The question of concern is, at what level of consumption are we using up our natural resources and our environment for things that we don't need and that don't really enhance our lives?

The developed countries of the world hold 25% of the world's population, but consume 75% of all energy, 85% of all wood products, and 72% of all steel produced.

Americans consume the most of all, even more than people in other developed countries. For example, we consume about twice as much energy per person as the British, French, Swedes, Norwegians, or Japanese.  Our consumption of other resources is also high.  In Fact, from 1940 to 1976, Americans consumed more minerals than did all of humanity up to then. And our consumption rate for most resources is still rising.

Commercialism impacts the environment. Our consumption rate reflects the level of commercialism in our culture. Over the last few decades, advertising has gradually helped convince us to make changes in our lives. Ads surround us. They encourage us to want more and buy more, often regardless of our true needs. Commercialism stimulates artificial wants, and satisfying these wants means consuming more material goods and thus increases resource consumption and environmental impacts.

Ads suggest that we should want things that are newer, faster, fancier, more fashionable, a different colour, larger or smaller, just like what everyone else has or different from what everyone else has. This perceived obsolescence is used to stimulate us to buy more. The classic example of perceived obsolescence is fashions in clothing. The same approach is used when makers of computers, stereos, cars, an other products tempt us with new products even though the older versions serve our needs well. A related approach, planned obsolescence is used by makers of other products. For example, some toys, equipment, calculators, small appliances, and other items are built to last only a short while. When broken, these items are not able to be repaired but must be replaced.  Finally, purveyors of fast food and prepared foods tell us that life will be easier and more fun if we eat their highly processed and packaged foods.

A healthy environment and a supply of natural resources are basic to our well-being. The basic premise of almost all ads is that we will be happier if we havethis, too.  Companies with products for sale would like us to believe that, since their profits increase when we buy their products. Yet our well being and happiness are not necessarily dependent on having more and more and more material goods. Our long-term health, happiness, and well-being are dependent on a healthy environment, as well as on our relationships with family and friends.

Does commercialism foster a culture of waste - a culture in which we are encouraged to make choices that are fundamentally at odds with our need to conserve natural resources and care for the environment?  It seems that the typical American lifestyle involves always wanting more. When we live in highly consumptive lifestyle, we use more resources and create more pollution. Many environmental problems are tied to our rate of consumption of material goods and thus of natural resources. The most basic method of caring for our environment is to conserve natural resources and use them wisely. 

Wealth From Waste

The subject of solid waste management was never more relevant than it is now. In fact Delhi alone produces around 8,000 tonne garbage per day, while the estimate for the country is 27.4 million tonne per year.

Waste management is still a linear system of collection and disposal, creating health and environmental hazards. In the light of this, Alliance for Waste Management, a common platform formed by organisations working on solid waste management issues, has been promoting the concept of ‘Integrated Zero Waste Management’.

“While waste-to-energy technology is posing a serious threat to environment, the government is paying lip service to the concept of ‘Integrated Zero Waste Management’ approach,” says Gopal Krishna of Toxic Links, a non-governmental organisation. Gopal adds that the Planning Commission’s Tenth Plan document states that India has bio-mass deficit, which essentially means the soil lacks carbon content. “So why burn the waste and release carbon in the air, instead of adding it to the soil?” asks Krishna.

“In India, the municipalities are still using the conventional method of either burning or burying to dispose off garbage,” elaborates Krishna, adding that the zero waste approach is being promoted and followed the world over. “Again the landfills are neither well managed nor lined properly to protect against contamination of soil and groundwater,” he points out.

Adds M B Nirmal, the founder of Exnora International, which is in the business of waste management, “Waste is wealth, why waste ‘waste’. India has a large number of urban poor and a lot of employment can be created through waste management process of composting organic waste and recycling inorganic waste.”

According to Nirmal, “Around 75% of the garbage in India is organic in nature. Since 75% of people are employed in the farm sector, it could be converted into organic manure beneficial to both farmers and to promote organic farming in the country.”

Exnora has tied up with Technomedia Solutions Pvt Ltd to come up with a Delhi plan to deal with solid waste management. “Our Delhi plan will be to start working with resident welfare associations (RWAs). We will first conduct workshops with these residential colonies or societies and then these RWAs will come up with their own action plans. We will give our expertise and guidance to them to manage their own waste,” says Nirmal. “We believe that the efforts to improve existing conditions can only be successful through local participation and capacity building of major stakeholders. So it is very important to involve the local stakeholders.”

Adds Shailender Nigam of Technomedia Solutions, “We have been associated with Exnora for over a year. We have been mainly supporting Exnora in Chennai. But we are now working out a plan to start some work in Delhi, too. Things are at very early stage of inception, though.” He adds, “The plan would be to identify few areas in Delhi and implement the concept of zero waste management and create a model and replicate it.”

Say No! - to Plastic Bags

WHAT ARE PLASTICS?
Plastics are synthetic substances produced by chemical reactions. Almost all plastics are made from petroleum, except a few experimental resins derived from corn and other organic substances.

"Plastics" derived their name from their properties to be molded, cast, extruded or processed into a variety of forms, including solid objects, films and filaments. These properties arise from their molecular structure. Plastics are polymers, very long chain molecules that consist of subunits (monomers) linked together by chemical bonds. The monomers of petrochemical plastics are inorganic materials (such as styrene) and are not biodegradable.

Plastic has many properties which has made it a raw material of choice for Manufactures of plastic Bags and packing materials. Cost of production, light weight, strength, easy process of manufacture, and availability are few of the properties. There is nothing wrong with plastic as a material. Man has simply not put the plastic to the right use/ or using it without taking proper care of other related norms of usage.
PLASTIC AS PACKING MATERIAL
Plastic has replaced the traditional material ( paper/cloth etc) as packing and carry bags because of cost and convenience which is possibly a wrong choice of material for such use. Even though plastic bags can preserve food and can be used for growing vegetables in a controlled environment, their method of disposal has creates unprecedented pollution problem.

Plastic has many more uses other than Plastic Bags and Packing material. It is used for manufacturing of protective covers and parts for many machines, which should be the preferred utility for plastic.

SHOPPING CULTURE IN EARLIER DAYS ( Pre Plastic age 1970 + )

Before the advent of poly-bags, people did shop, buy things, bring eatables from the market, and did the same marketing as is done now. How did they did it? The raw material for the bag was decided by its usage. Cloth bags for lighter items, Gunny bags/Jute bags for voluminous and heavier goods. The cost did not justify use and discard attitude. These bags were washable and reusable lasting for six months to a year.
PLASTIC HAZARDS

The hazards plastics pose are numerous. The land gets littered by plastic bag garbage presenting an ugly and unhygienic seen. The "Throw away culture" results in these bags finding their way in to the city drainage system, the resulting blockage cases inconvenience, difficult in maintaining the drainage with increased cost, creates unhygienic environment resulting in health hazard and spreading of water borne diseases. This littering also reduces rate of rain water percolating, resulting in lowering of already low water levels in our cities. The soil fertility deteriorates as the plastic bags form part of manure remain in the soil for years.

It has been observed that the animals eating the bags sometimes die. Plastic goes into the ocean which is already a plastic infested body of water. Fish and other marine species in the water ways, misunderstanding plastic garbage as food items swallow them and die.

SHOULD PLASTIC BE TOTALLY BANNED?

Many household utility items like needle, scissors, blades can heart if not handled properly. Children need to be trained in their proper handling. These utility items are not banned. But because of throw away culture and no objection from passer by, the advise on sensible disposal of plastic bags are not heeded by general public forcing the government to consider banning of plastic bags all together.

"Should plastic carry bags and bottles be banned in totality?" - is a heated issue today. Average Indian uses one kilogram  (kg) of plastics per year, the world annual average is a alarming 18 kg. But too many do it as our cities have huge population. The country yet to take a serious view of the issue and have a uniform nation-wide law for indiscreet disposals of plastic bags. People should be educated on the proper ways of plastic bag usage and the disposal. The teaching should start right from the primary schools.

"Plastic is an eco-friendly material. The real problem is littering", some claim. But there is hardly anybody who agrees with such viewpoint.

Thinking rationally, the whole idea of educating people about plastic bags, although very ambitious, and it is as difficult as banning smoking The conventional older and tested alternatives offers an easy, if not fully equitable and practical solution.

And all the hype that poly-bags pollute is not totally false. It is not that poly-bags are responsible for the ills, of course not, it is the humans. It is ignorance ( or who cares attitude). We have not banned sewing needles they pierce through the skin. It's a stupid idea. Whether it is the common citizen, the government official or the hard-hit plastic bag manufacturer, all of them agree on one point - firm steps are required to be taken against littering of plastic bags and bottles all around.

THE GLOBAL DIMENSION

More than a 100 million tonnes of plastic is produced world-wide each year. Though plastics have opened the way for a plethora of new inventions and devices it has also ended up clogging the drains and becoming a health hazard. Many countries, including India, are trying to increase the amount of plastic that is recycled. But commercial interests create hindrance for effective legislation to remove plastics from goods where they can threaten public health. Also there is a clear trend of shipping off the plastic waste of developed countries to under developed and developing countries. India imported 7,841.8 metric tonnes of plastic waste from the US in the first half of 1994. India is the fourth highest Asian importer of plastic waste behind Hong Kong, Philippines, Indonesia.

FUTURE ALTERNATIVE - ECO-FRIENDLY PLASTICS

However newer technology is also being developed in this regard. This entails the use of DEGRADABLE PLASTICS. The principal is to incorporate into the plastic some chemical that is photodegradable/biodegradable or chemically treatable.

By adding starch, biodegradable plastics are generally made. On burial such plastics are attacked by bacteria feeding on starch, which breaks these down into tiny particles that disappear harmlessly into the soil. Some common examples of biodegradable plastics are the use of "non-removable" suture materials in surgery or capsules for drugs, which dissolve slowly in body fluids.

Chemically degradable plastics can be broken up by spraying them with a solution that causes them to dissolve. For example such material can be used as a protective wax covering for new cars, that washes off at the dealer's garage by a specially formulated spray. This spray reacts with one of the components of the plastic and causes it to dissolve into harmless materials which can be flushed down the drain.

Photo-degradable plastics contain chemicals that slowly disintegrate when exposed to light. In France, strips of photo-degradable plastic about 3 ft (1mtr) wide are used to retain heat in the soil and produce early crops. They last for about 1 to 3 years before rotting into the soil. But they have to be used in places with consistent amount of sunshine so that they decay at a predictable rate. In the USA, about one quarter of the plastic yokes that link beer cans in a six pack are made of plastic called Ecolyte, which is photo-degradable. But to stop them decaying too early, they must be stored away from direct sunlight, which can be of some inconvenience to the retailer.

However degradable plastic can have a few other problems. For example, it cannot be recycled because there is no easy way to measure it's remaining life span. The biggest drawback is the cost of it's production. Japanese scientists however claim that they will soon be able to produce much cheaper multipurpose biodegradable plastic. In order to obviate the disposal problems and to prevent

Environmental pollution caused by routinely used polythene packaging materials, it would be prudent , for the present, to use eco-friendly paper packaging. The manufacturers of plastic packaging like soft drink bottles/mineral water bottles etc must come forward and develop appropriate methods of disposal/own responsibility for disposal.

A ban on plastic bags (below 20 microns) has already been imposed by various states and also in a few towns and districts in India. It is going to extend this to other parts of the country also.

Plastic bags are so light and strong that they can carry normal weight, cheap and is used in all types of shops in our daily life. For example: bakeries, medical shops, grocery stores, hotels, etc. People are so accustomed to it, that they find it very difficult to part with it. Plastic bags have made it possible for people to go without bags to market or work place as these bags are availably for asking and can be thrown without a second thought.

People who go on picnics, visiting historic places, hill stations etc., to enjoy their holidays or just for a change carry with them eatables in containers, plastic bags, mineral water bottles (plastic), plastic plates and plastic cups and generally leave it in the open air after consuming the contents. One can find this in tourist centres scattered all over. Road-side vendors also use plastic cups to serve coffee or tea. The customers throw these cups on foot paths or near drains after consuming the contents.

These plastic materials are so light that they are carried away by the speed of the moving vehicle, wind etc., scattered all over, making the surroundings look ugly. There are instances wherein these materials have clogged the underground drains. People are in the habit of throwing things they don't need wherever they like irrespective of the final result. People should be specially educated regarding the use of plastic in our daily life, as it is environment unfriendly. Boys and girls, men and women with bags on their backs and a stick in one hand walking long distances, picking up plastic waste, paper, bottles etc., from dust bins, road sides, is a common sight in Bangalore. These rag pickers sell the waste collected, to the collection centre to earn their livelihood. These materials are recycled. Bangalorians must be grateful to them, as they dispose off a part of non-degradable waste material, 'plastic', in particular. The BMP has given on contract basis, the cleaning of roads in residential areas and other parts of the city.

The waste materials collected are of all types including plastic materials, such as plastic bags, plastic cups, plastic bottles etc. Instead of carrying these wastes away, they are burnt on the road side polluting the area with thick smoke which produce toxic gases (because of burning of plastic material) posing a health hazard. Inhaling of such gases causes lung diseases and even cancer. They resort to burning of waste material with the main intention of reducing the number of trips a lorry has to take. Burning of waste material in public is a serious offence and violation of Corporation bylaws.

This should be properly monitored by the Health Department of the BMP and immediate action taken on violators. Arrangements must be made to segregate recycling items such as plastic, paper, glass etc. Leaves and other degradable waste can be converted into manure. While traveling in trains, we generally find coffee and tea being served in plastic cups (use and throw) which the traveling public after consuming it throw them away in village fields and field channels on the way. There is the likelihood of this collecting near the outlet of the channel obstructing the free flow of water into the fields. Plastic being non-degradable, when buried under the ground, arrest the percolation of water into the ground. Animals grazing in the field consuming this plastic waste along with grass cannot be ruled out. Now-a-days, in almost all functions, it has become a practice to use thin plastic sheets to cover the dining tables to give it a good look and also so that it is easy to clean the table, as left over can be removed by rolling the sheet at a stretch. These are thrown near the dust bin.

Besides this, thin plastic cups are also used for drinking water, which also finds a place in the dust bin. One can find near the dust bin, waiting slum children, crows, stray cows, dogs to share the leftovers. In this process, they fight amongst themselves and stray cows in majority of cases have consumed thin plastic sheets along with left over, leading to untold sufferings and also found dead on many occasions. It is therefore, suggested that a ban be placed on the use of plastic sheets, plastic cups, along with plastic bags. Plastic industries manufacturing plastic bags (below 20 microns) thin sheets, thin cups and thin bottles, should be informed about its ill-effects on the environment and advised not to manufacture such items.

If the industry is located in a residential area, action should be taken to shift it immediately. The factory management should take all measures to control the pollution created, within the stipulated norms by the KSPB and the pollution board should monitor it regularly. The public should be educated regarding littering dumping and unnecessary burning of wastes. The Health Department of the BMP, municipalities of cities and towns, Karnataka Pollution Board has a greater role to play in making Karnataka eco-friendly and a place to live in safely for the future generation.

THE SOLUTION

The solution lies in finding

1. alternative suitable for making Bags and packing material at competitive rate and convenience without having any negative aspect.
2. R&d to make plastic more environment friendly.
3. Educate users to the right disposal methods.
4. Reduce the no of users by reducing the population in the long run.
5. Process vegetable. etc to higher density so as to reduce the no of bags required to pack and carry. 6. Encourage reusable bags from traditional materials by suitable advertisements to make it fashionable. ( this may be the overwhelming factor in favour of traditional material). ( Ladies use bags made of snake skin/ rabbit skin/lion skin etc only for fashion and looks )
7. Cost of mfg bags with traditional material can be subsidized by printing advertisement on the bags.

In recent times due to widespread awareness drive by NGOS and government and to lesser extent by educational institutions has resulted in increasing the consciousness among few shopkeepers they have shifted back to the old system of wrapping up goods in paper bags or newspapers, Some people are slowly getting habituated to going to the market with cloth bags. Besides a few NGOs, even school students have come forward to take up a promotion campaign for the use of paper or cloth bags.

It has also been suggested "Rather than spending money on anti-plastic campaign, the authorities should gear up its machinery for effective waste management and disposal of plastic".

Unfortunately, many states do not have units to recycle the plastic while the plastic manufacturers are not prepared to take it up as a social responsibility.

The plastics industry is jumping on the "green" bandwagon with a new line of "environmentally safe" products. In reality, these products are no friend of the environment.

Each year, as industry produces more and more nonessential products individually and excessively packaged, we throw away more and more trash. To a large extent, our garbage problem is a result of a corporate ethic that puts profits before people -- and the environment. Industry is pushing disposability because it pays. Plastic razors can only be used a few times before disposal, then more must be bought, making the plastic and razor industries rich and happy. Appliances designed to become obsolete guarantee you'll have to buy new ones next year.

Over 84 percent (by weight) of municipal solid waste could be reused, recycled or composted instead of being buried or burned. An exception is plastic, which comprises about 7 percent by weight or 20 percent by volume of municipal solid waste. Due to technical and financial limitations, less than ten percent of plastic is currently "recycled." Furthermore, "plastic recycling" only defers the plastic disposal problem, since most plastic items can only be manufactured from virgin plastic. Recycled polystyrene foam (also known by the brand name Styrofoam) can be used to build marine docks but not to make a new polystyrene foam cup. New plastic will have to be produced from non-renewable oil stocks to make those cups, and eventually all the plastic will have to be disposed of.

The Plastic Panacea

In 1989, the U.S. used over twelve billion pounds of plastic for packaging designed to be thrown away as soon as the package is opened. In the 1990s, this figure doubled. Fortunately, more and more people are becoming aware of the damage plastic does to the environment. They are speaking out against it, protesting irresponsible industries and getting laws passed banning polystyrene and other plastics.

However, the plastic itself, which generally comprises over 90 percent of the material, is not biodegradable. Although so-called "biodegradable" plastic products typically contain chemicals that help them fragment, the additives do not render the plastic biodegradable.

The second technique is simply bad science. Manufacturers conclude from poorly designed tests that the actual plastic in a "degradable" plastic product is converted to fragments that can be consumed by microorganisms. Having examined data from actual tests of biodegradability, we only find evidence that plastics are not fully metabolized by microorganisms. Therefore they are not legitimately entitled to the term "biodegradable" and may leave behind harmful fragments of plastic and plastic additives.

Plastic Production: Environmental Nightmare

While the plastic industry promotes its new "environmentally friendly" products, they deliberately ignore the highly toxic nature of plastic production, whether the product is called "degradable," "recyclable" or any other "green marketing" catchword.

Among the 47 chemical plants ranked highest in carcinogenic emissions by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), 35 are involved in plastic production. Certain plastics such as polyvinyl chloride (PVC), used for indoor and outdoor plumbing, electrical cables and countless other products, are potential sources of highly toxic dioxins when burned in municipal incinerators or in accidental fires. Polystyrene foam products are often made with chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and hydro chlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs), both of which are ozone-destroying chemicals.

In sum, there is no good evidence that "degradable" plastics actually eliminate the environmental hazards associated with ordinary plastics. But there is good evidence that the real purpose of marketing these products is not so much environmental improvement as it is to cash in on the American public's desire for environmental improvement.

"[Degradable bags] are not the answer to landfill crowding or littering . . . Degradability is just a marketing tool. We're talking out of both sides of our mouths because we want to sell bags. I don't think the average consumer even knows what degradability means. Customers don't care if it even solves the solid-waste problem. It makes them feel good." -- Mobil Chemical Company spokesperson.

Educated choices by both producers and consumers, followed by efficient recycling, can drastically reduce worldwide pollution. Right now we are recycling only one percent nationwide, although some communities do far better than that, recycling 50 percent or more of their solid waste. Every year, we throw out enough aluminum to quadruple the size of our air fleet, enough steel to literally rebuild Manhattan and enough wood and paper to heat 5 million homes for 200 years.

With current technology we can recycle newspaper, office paper, cardboard, glass bottles, aluminum cans, scrap metals, large appliances, automobile tires and motor oil.

Paper bags: expensive but biodegradable

A CASE STUDY -

POLYTHENE BABA: BABA WHO MAKES PLASTICS DISAPPEAR !!

Prabhat K Upreti, a college, lecturer lovingly called the "polythene baba" after his successful campaign against polythene bags in the Pithoragarh valley in Uttar Pradesh. Prabhat K Upreti, along with seven other residents of Pithoragarh have proved that where there is a will there is a way, even without the help from the local administration. They have also shown that sustainable campaigns can be successful even with meager funds.

Pithoragarh is around 215 kilometres from Kathgodam. When Upreti, a lecturer, was transferred to the Government Post Graduate College in Pithoragarh, he found that the Chandrabhaga river, which flows nearby, was clogged with plastic bags. Upreti then approached the municipal corporation but it did not respond.

Therefore, he decided to take help from the local people and slowly started cleaning drive which gained momentum with time. His colleagues as well as people from all walks of life teachers, journalists, ex-army officers, doctors, shopkeepers and school children all joined his drive against the menace of plastic bags. After a report on Upretis campaign was published in Amar Ujala, a local newspaper, and its internet edition he received numerous letters and phone calls supporting the campaign.

"We targeted the shopkeepers first, especially the wholesalers of plastic bags," says C S Negi, one of the members of Upreti's anti-plastic campaign group. The wholesalers understanding the gravity of the problem stopped supplying plastic bags in Pithoragarh.

"Every Sunday we would go to various residential areas and pick up plastic bags from the roads and clear clogged drains with our own hands. At first the residents were a little amused but once the area was cleaned they understood the importance of our work and started joining the movement. Our belief was that we have to show the way and then only people will listen to our message," reminisces Negi. The team with the help of schoolchildren also painted posters, distributed leaflets and organized meetings to sensitize people about the harmful effects of plastic. The members paid all expenses from their own pocket.

They also took the anti-polythene message to the neighboring areas like Munshiyari, Julaghat, Chandag and Champawat. The message spread to Almora, Haldwani and Nainital as well.

This is not the first campaign that Upreti has been a part of. Earlier he had campaigned against plastics in Gopeshwar in 1998. "I saw the ponds in Gopeshwar littered with plastic bags. Several cows were found dead with bloated stomachs full of polythene bags," he says.

"I met a farmer in Gopeshwar who told me that birds were destroying their crops because they could not eat garbage, since everything was being packed in a polythene bag before being thrown," he added.

However, at Gopeshwar shopkeepers were not enthusiastic about Upretis campaign. "The then district magistrate Uma Kant Pawar helped me a lot and he imposed a fine of Rs 5,000 on anyone found dumping plastic bags. After the fine was announced people started listening," he said.

But for now, Upreti is happy. After seven months of hard work Pithoragarh is polythene free except for some stray cases. "Paper bags are more expensive, but since the customers have said an emphatic no to them we have to abide by their wish," says a shopkeeper. For some the cause was more important than their business interests. Mahesh Joshi, a printing press owner is one of them. "I get a lot of orders to print logos on plastic bags but I refuse to do it. Of course this means loosing a lot of money but as it is for a good cause, I do not mind," says Joshi.

The movement has also created job opportunities for many poor families, as they are able to make paper bags and sell them. However, the activists are sad that the local administration has not done much about their cause. Upreti fears that in the coming days things might change if the campaign is not sustained.

Biodegradable Plastic

Once upon a time, household plastic products stayed unchanged in landfills, in forests, in oceans and along the side of the road for hundreds of years, creating environmental issues throughout the world. Finally, the technology is available to put this problem to rest.

Recycling is beneficial when natural resources are truly saved. However, in many cases the recycling of products such as trash bags and food packaging consumes more natural resources than simply throwing the products away and making new.

ECM Bio-Films, Inc., located in Painesville, Ohio, produces an additive that enables common plastics to naturally biodegrade. Since very small amounts of the additive are needed during manufacturing, the physical properties, functionality and appearance of the finished products remain the same.

This biodegradation process can take place aerobically and an aerobically. It can take place with or without the presence of light. These factors allow for biodegradation even in landfill conditions that are normally not conducive to any degradation.

Causes and Effects of Deforestation

Trees are one of the most important aspects of the planet we live in. Trees are vitally important to the environment, animals, and of course for us humans. They are important for the climate of the Earth, they act as filters of carbon dioxide, they are habitats and shelters to millions of species, and they are also important for their aesthetic appeal. However, the trees on our planet are being depleted at a very fast rate. According to some estimates, more than 50 percent of the tree cover has disappeared due to human activity.

Although humans have been practicing deforestation since ages, it was in the mid-1800s that forests began to be destroyed at an unprecedented rate. They are important for the climate of the Earth, they act as filters of carbon dioxide, they are habitats and shelters to millions of species, and they are also important for their aesthetic appeal. However, the trees on our planet are being depleted at a very fast rate. According to some estimates, more than 50 percent of the tree cover has disappeared due to human activity. As a matter of fact, throughout the earlier part of the medieval age, Europeans used to live amongst vast areas of forested land. But later, they began deforestation at such a high rate that they started to run out of wood for cooking and heating. Also, due to the depletion of their natural habitat, wild game too began disappearing, which the Europeans largely depended upon for their nutritional requirements. Today, parallels can clearly be observed in the deforestation that is occurring in most developing countries.

One of the most worrying factors today is the massive destruction of the rainforests of the world, which is affecting the biodiversity adversely, as well as being one of the major contributory factors of the Holocene mass extinction that is ongoing.

What are the Causes of Deforestation?

The destruction of the forests is occurring due to various reasons, one of the main reasons being the short term economic benefits. Given below are some more common causes of deforestation:

Used for Urban and Construction Purposes: The cutting down of trees for lumber that is used for building materials, furniture, and paper products. Forests are also cleared in order to accommodate expanding urban areas.

To Grow Crops: Forests are also cut down in order to clear land for growing crops.

To Create Grazing Land: Forests are cut down in order create land for grazing cattle.

Used for Fuel: Trees are cut down in developing countries to be used as firewood or turned into charcoal, which are used for cooking and heating purposes.

Some of the other causes of deforestation are: clearing forests for oil and mining exploitation; to make highways and roads; slash and burn farming techniques; wildfires; and acid rain.

What are the Effects of Deforestation?

There are a number of adverse effects of deforestation, such as:

Erosion of Soil: When forest areas are cleared, it results in exposing the soil to the sun, making it very dry and eventually, infertile, due to volatile nutrients such as nitrogen being lost. In addition, when there is rainfall, it washes away the rest of the nutrients, which flow with the rainwater into waterways. Because of this, merely replanting trees may not help in solving the problems caused by deforestation, for by the time the trees mature, the soil will be totally devoid of essential nutrients. Ultimately, cultivation in this land will also become impossible, resulting in the land becoming useless. Large tracts of land will be rendered permanently impoverished due to soil erosion.

Disruption of the Water Cycle: Trees contribute in a large way in maintaining the water cycle. They draw up water via their roots, which is then released into the atmosphere. A large part of the water that circulates in the ecosystem of rainforests, for instance, remains inside the plants. When these trees are cut down it results in the climate getting drier in that area.

Loss of Biodiversity: The unique biodiversity of various geographical areas is being lost on a scale that is quite unprecedented. Even though tropical rainforests make up just 6 percent of the surface area of the Earth, about 80-90 percent of the entire species of the world exist here. Due to massive deforestation, about 50 to 100 species of animals are being lost each day. The outcome of which is the extinction of animals and plants on a massive scale.

Flooding and Drought: One of the vital functions of forests is to absorb and store great amounts of water quickly when there are heavy rains. When forests are cut down, this regulation of the flow of water is disrupted, which leads to alternating periods of flood and then drought in the affected area.

Climate Change: It is well known that global warming is being caused largely due to emissions of greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. However, what is not known quite as well is that deforestation has a direction association with carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere. Trees act as a major storage depot for carbon, since they absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, which is then used to produce carbohydrates, fats, and proteins that make up trees. When deforestation occurs, many of the trees are burnt or they are allowed to rot, which results in releasing the carbon that is stored in them as carbon dioxide. This, in turn, leads to greater concentrations of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

Ozone Layer : Its Depletion, Consequences & Protection

Ozone is an unstable blue gas having pungent odour. Chemically, it is an allotrope of Oxygen which is an element in the gaseous form. It has three oxygen atoms in its single molecule and in the language of Chemistry; its molecular formula is 03. It is used as a powerful oxidant, bleach, and water purifier. It is also used to treat industrial wastes.

Where is ozone found?

If found in the troposphere; ozone acts as a powerful pollutant. But, when found in the stratosphere, it acts like a friend of the earth because it shields most of the ultra violet radiations and does not allow them to pass on towards the same. In stratosphere, it is found in the form of a dense layer called as the Ozone Layer or the Ozone Belt. Thus, the Ozone Belt in the stratosphere acts like a Protective Umbrella of the earth. Let us see, how this gas is formed in the atmosphere.

How is ozone formed?

Ozone is formed in the stratosphere when oxygen molecules Photo dissociate after absorbing an UV Photon of shorter wavelength(less than 240 nm) to produce two oxygen atoms. Ozone is mainly produced from oxygen containing molecules such as Sulphur dioxide, Nitrogen Oxides, etc. also when these molecules are exposed to ultraviolet radiations. In Chemistry, a molecule is the particle of any substance that can remain in a free state. But, what is an atom? Well, an atom is the smallest particle of a substance that can not usually remain in a free condition. Two or more atoms combine to form a molecule. Through the foregoing lines, we came across another term, allotrope. One of the two or more different forms of molecules of an element is called as an allotrope.

A large number of ozone molecules assemble around the earth to form the Ozone Layer which extends from 13 to 48 km above the earth surface. On an average, it is about 230 Dobson units (DU) in thickness. DU is the unit which measures thickness of the ozone layer. It equals to 0.01 mm.

Ozone depleting substances

Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs or Freons), Methane, Nitrous Oxides (N2O), Carbon Tetrachloride (CCl4), Methyl Bromide (a soil fumigant and insecticide), aircraft emissions, n- propyl bromide and Halon- 1202 are major agents that cause depletion of ozone layer. Hence, these are called as Ozone Depleting Substances (ODS).

 

How is the Ozone Layer Depleted?

Chlorofluorocarbons or Freons get accumulated in greater amounts at high altitudes and gradually reach to the stratosphere. Under the influence of intense short wave ultraviolet radiations they release chlorine atoms. A single chlorine atom can react with more than, 100,000 molecules of ozone and can convert them into oxygen. Other ozone depleting substances like methane, nitrous oxide, methyl bromide etc. too, pass through a series of reactions under the influence of UV-radiations of sunlight and catalysts found in the air and help in the depletion of ozone layer.

• Ozone molecule absorbs UV light between 310 and 200 nm. The ozone molecule absorbs oxygen atom to form two molecules of Oxygen, and the Ozone cycle continues.
• Ozone is destroyed by a number of free radicals catalysts –like Hydroxyl radical, Nitric oxide radical, and Bromine through natural and anthropogenic sources.

Effects of the Depletion of Ozone Layer

I. General Effects

Ozone absorbs ultraviolet radiations so that much of it is never allowed to reach to the earth surface. The protective umbrella of ozone layer in the stratosphere protects the earth from harmful ultraviolet radiations. Ozone plays an important role in the biology and climatology on the earth’s environment. It filters out all the radiations that remain below 3000Å. Radiations below this wavelength are biologically harmful. Hence any depletion of ozone layer is sure to exert catastrophic impacts on life in the biosphere. The Ultraviolet radiation is one of the most harmful radiations contained in the sunlight. Ozone layer in the stratosphere absorbs these radiations and does not allow it to reach to the earth.

The depletion of Ozone layer may lead to UV exposures that may cause a number of biological consequences like Skin Cancer, damages to vegetation, and even the reduction of the population of planktons (in the oceanic Photic zone).

Some of the remarkable effects of the UV radiations or the effects of depletion of the Ozone Layer are mentioned below.

(1) UV radiation causes sun- eye- diseases (cataract), skin diseases, skin cancer and damage to immune system in our body.

(2) It damages plants and causes reduction in crop productivity.

(3) It damages embryos of fish, shrimps, crabs and amphibians. The population of salamanders is reducing due to UV-radiations reaching to the earth.

(4) UV- radiations damage fabrics, pipes, paints, and other non-living materials on this earth.

(5) It contributes in the Global Warming. If the ozone depletion continues, the temperature around the world may rise even up to 5.5 Celsius degrees.

II.Specific Effects

The specific effects of depletion of Ozone Layer have been observed on Human Society, Agriculture, Plants and Animals etc. These effects have been summarized as below-

A. Effects of Ozone Depletion on Human Society

(i).The flux of ultra violet radiation in the biosphere is increased due to ozone depletion. It has seriously harmful effects on human societies like formation of patches on skin and weakening of the human immune system.

(ii). It may cause three types of skin cancer like basal cell carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma and melanoma. A 10 per cent decrease in stratospheric ozone has been reported to cause 20 to 30 per cent increase in cancer in human society. Each year, about 7000 people die of such diseases each year in USA. About 10 percent increase in skin cancer has been reported in Australia and New Zealand.

(iii).Exposure to UV radiations damages skin of the sun-bathing people by damaging melanocyte-cells or by causing sun-burns due to faster flow of blood in the capillaries of exposed areas.

(iv).Exposure to UV radiations due to ozone depletion may cause leukemia and breast cancer.

(iv).Exposure of UV radiation to human eye damages cornea and lens leading to Photo keratitis, cataract and even blindness.

(v).The Ambient Ozone Exposure may cause Emphysema, bronchitis, asthma and even obstruction of lungs in human beings.

(vi).Exposure to radiations due to ozone depletion has been reported to cause DNA breakage, inhibition and alteration of DNA replication and premature ageing in human beings.

B. Effect of Ozone Depletion on Agriculture

(i). Radiations reaching to the earth due to ozone depletion cause severe damage to plants including crops. As per reports, ultra violet radiations reaching to the earth cause losses up to 50 per cent in European countries.

(ii).The radiation reaching to the earth due to the depletion of the ozone layer cause visible damages in plants. They adversely affect the rate of photosynthesis that finally results into decrease in the agricultural production.

(iv).The UV radiation enhances the rate of evaporation through stomata and decreases the moisture content of the soil. This condition adversely affects the growth and development of crop plants and reduces the crop yield.

(v). The ozone reduction adversely affects the weather pattern which in turn affects the crop production by encouraging plant injuries and disease development.

(vi). The UV radiation reaching to the earth surface alters the global balance between radiation and energy. This condition of imbalance causes seasonal variations that further reduce the crop production.

(vii). A number of economically important plant species such as rice, depend on cyanobacteria residing in their roots for the retention of nitrogen. These bacteria are sensitive to UV light and they are hence, are killed instantly.

C. Effects of Ozone Depletion on other Plants and Animals

(i).The ozone layer depletion causes climatic alterations that cause physiological changes in plants and animals. The change in the energy balance and radiation may affect the survival and stability of living organisms.

(ii).The depletion of ozone layer may cause changes in thermal conditions of the biosphere. It may affect type, density and stability of vegetation which in turn may affect different bio-geo-chemical cycles operating in nature. Interruption in these cycles damages important process of ecosystem leading to dangerous conditions for plants and animals.

(iii).The depletion of ozone layer causes death of plankton- populations in fresh as well as marine waters .This condition seriously affects the transfer of materials in ecosystems. The recent researches gave analyzed a widespread extinction of planktons 2 million years ago that coincided with the nearby supernova. Planktons are particularly susceptible to effects of UV light and are vitally important to the marine food webs.

The Ozone Hole

The hole in the context of ozone depletion relates to thinning of the ozone layer in a certain area. Here, the word hole is considered as a hole in the ground which in the context of ozone layer is thinning of ozone in a certain area up to certain depth as measured by scientists. In fact, ozone hole is an area where the ozone concentration drops to an average of about 100 Dobson Units. The word ‘Dobson’ has been taken from the name of the famous scientist and climatologist G. M. B. Dobson, who observed the ozone hole for the first time in 1956, over Halley Bay.

The satellite measurements done in September 2000 revealed that the thinning of ozone layer in Antarctic had reached a record 28.3 million sq km which was about one million sq km greater than the record of 1998. Thinning of ozone in such a big area is rightly termed as ozone hole. The ozone hole in the Northern Latitudes has also been recorded. The ozone hole over Antarctica may expose not only the Antarctica but also a large area of the pacific and Atlantic oceans and South America as well.

The ozone hole over Antarctica was first discovered by Farman, Gardiner and Shanklin in 1985. They jointly declared their findings through a paper published in the May issue of Nature (an important International Journal) in 1985. The entire scientific community was shocked to know their findings.

On the basis of observations made through a network of ground based Dobson Spectrophotometer, an International Panel of scientists confirmed that the Ozone Layer was being depleted at all latitudes out side the tropics. Out of a big group of scientists across the world, Crutzen, Molina, and Rowland were awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for their work on Stratospheric Ozone, in 1995.The scientific assessment of ozone depletion is going on across the world since 1981, under the sponsorship of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), and the most recent measurement was done during the year 2006. Here are the comparative pictures showing the Ozone Holes over Antarctica during the spring seasons of two different years.

Why is the Ozone Hole over Antarctica, usually formed during spring months?

A circulation pattern of gases traps the ozone over the South Pole for several months but not during winter. This circulation pattern is called as Antarctic Polar Vortex. Within this vortex, the substantial ozone loss was detected for the first time during 1980. During extreme cold conditions, the polar winters are dark and continue up to three months without solar radiations. This leads to the decrease in temperature. The polar vortex traps air and contributes in further falling temperature which goes down up to -80 0c. The low temperature forms cloud particles that contain nitric acid and ice. These clouds provide surfaces for chemical reactions that lead to ozone depletion. During the Antarctic winters and springs, reactions that take place on the surface of the Polar Stratospheric Clouds (PSCs) convert pollutants into free radicals such as Cl and ClO.

These clouds can also remove NO2 from the atmosphere by converting it to nitric acid. It prevents the newly formed ClO from being converted back into ClONO2. The role of sunlight is the fundamental reason why the Antarctic ozone depletion is greatest during spring. The Antarctic ozone depletion is caused during September to early December. Over 50 per cent of the lower stratospheric ozone is destroyed during the period of the Antarctic Spring.

Prevention and Control of Depletion of the Ozone Layer

Banning the production and use of ozone depleting substances is one important way of preventing further depletion of the ozone layer in the stratosphere. On the other hand, alternatives to these chemical compounds should also be searched out so as to replace these chemicals. Scientists of the University of California, U.S.A. devised a possible way of plugging the ozone hole by injecting alkanes or propanes into the atmosphere of Antarctica. The alkanes have the affinity of reacting with ozone destroying chlorine atoms. According to the scientists, about 50,000 tones of alkane or propane would have to be blown to check the ozone loss. These chemicals could be released from an altitude of about 15 km by a group of hundreds of large aircrafts.

Global Efforts for Controlling the Depletion of the Ozone Layer

Since ozone depletion is a Global Environmental Problem, it requires strong global efforts and co- operations for its solution. The International Community is taking up strong efforts as a result of which global consumption of ozone depleting substances has decreased markedly.

Following the UNEP’s Governing Council’s meeting to co- ordinate activities on protecting ozone layer in 1975, United States, Canada, Norway and Sweden banned the use of CFCs. The production capacity of the European Union (E U) was frozen allowing limited uses of aerosols. In March 1985, 28 countries of the world agreed on Vienna Convention for the protection of the ozone layer. In September 1987, different countries of the world adopted Montreal Protocol on substances that deplete ozone layer. The General Assembly of the United Nations voted to designate September 16 as the World Ozone Day, to mark the signing of the Montreal Protocol, the 16th September, 1987.By December 2001, 182 countries ratified the Vienna Convention and 181 the Montreal Protocol. By 2000, 96 chemicals were subject to control under the Montreal Protocol.