#FROMWASTE2WONDER

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In this era of technological advancement and development, polymer materials specifically plastic has been widely used around the world. The use of plastic has played a major role in the packaging process especially in industries that are mainly using plastic as their main resources. For example, food and beverages industries, medical and health care industries and cosmetic industries. These industries took up the usage of plastic because plastics is low in cost, durable, high in water resistivity and it costs lesser energy and heavy chemical requirements to manufacture them. However, the use of plastic has become a disease because it is tarnishing our Mother Nature. Plastic takes up a long period of time to completely decompose because we cannot simply burn them due to its effect that will release toxic chemicals into the air that will pollute the air and harm people that breathe the air. Plastic has also been frequently reported accumulating landfills due to its large quantities. Aquatic wildlife is also suffering because they mistook plastic as food and die due to the plastic’s toxicity that harm the organs of aquatic wildlife. This environmental issue must be controlled to save Mother Nature from constantly suffering.
Several efforts have been done by the government to contain this issue from becoming more serious in the future. Government has established a work force to handle our nation’s environmental health, which is the Ministry of Environment and Water. Under the Ministry of Environment and Water, a department was established in 1975 named Department of Environment (DOE) to prevent, eliminate, control pollution and improve the environment, consistent with the purposes of the Environmental Quality Act 1974 and the regulations thereunder. Other than DOE, the environmental health is also managed by local authorities such as municipal councils and city councils. Other than that, it is mandatory for companies and industries in our country to provide a division in their organization to supervise the environmental health at their workplace. However, plastic management are managed by city councils and the Department of Solid Waste Management under the Ministry of Housing and Local Government. DOE is not involved in the management, collection and the recycling of plastic. They will only take action when plastic is polluting the environment. All the work of managing, collecting and recycling plastic are done by third parties which are local collectors. Due to their hardworking efforts, we should honor their work because they could transform a mere waste into something that can be of worth to the society by inventing a useful product that can be of good use.