After goods are purchased in stores, shops, market etc the buyer must have a way of transporting their goods. The widespread availability and “convenience” of plastic has made it the main means of packaging for almost all goods. Because of the lack of recycling plants, plastics used for packaging is usually thrown out and deposited in gutters, drainages, rivers, streams and eventually end up in the ocean. Considering the natural decomposition time of plastic in the open environment and the negative environmental impacts of burning plastics, it is evident that the scale of plastic usage in the country is unsustainable. Therefore, replacing plastic with paper (where possible and or practical) can help mitigate an extremely serious problem within the society. The opening of a (brown) paper bag manufacturing plant will be profitable, cost-effective for businesses throughout the country and environmentally friendly. One way of addressing the problem is by legislation, restricting the use of plastics. This will however not be effective except an alternative means of packaging is provided.
Every year people lost their lives through floods and contamination occurs once it floods. This give rise to diseases such as cholera which causes more death in the country. The plastics also affects marine life as tons of it eventually ends up in the ocean. The plastic debris injures and kills fish, seabirds and marine mammals and severely threatening marine biodiversity in Sierra Leone. Plastic is a growing threat to the environment and the well being of the people in Sierra Leone. A significant proportion of disposed plastics also ends up as municipal solid waste, where it causes environmental degradation of land, public health hazards and threat to terrestrial biodiversity. In Sierra Leone, inadequate or informal waste management systems mean that waste is often burned in open dumps or household backyards. The open burning of plastics has three negative effects: It releases CO2 and black carbon which are two very potent climate changing substances, it emits chlorinated and brominated additives and other persistent organic pollutants and poses severe threats to plants, animals and human health because the toxic particulates can easily settle on crops or in waterways.
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