Plastics and care

One of the most versatile man-made materials on earth is present in great quantity here in this elongated make-shift kind of store along Tanjong Kling in Malacca. Imagine all this plastic that is practically indestructible discarded as trash. When we discard a tumbler here and a container there at home, we do not see the significance of what that would do the environment.

What others dispose of, we do not see and therefore we do not care. Now imagine that hundreds of households dump their discards here. That would give a sense of how much indestructible and harmful plastic we are responsible for and the part we play in killing the earth.

The following pictures were taken at Ngee Ann City where a mega sale of toys was taking place. Prices were attractive. People were attracted to the tons of plastic forms that they thought would give their kids endless hours of fun and distraction till the next sale comes along. Then the toys become useless and are thrown away or given to the Salvation Army and new ones made of more plastic replace them. Take a minute to think how much space these plastic toys would take up in rubbish dump and how much poisonous fumes could come from burning them to get rid of them from the face of this earth.

Don't buy things that you do not need. Kids do not need another toy. They just need parents to spend time with them. Housewives do not need to renew what they have in their cupboards just because there are sales everywhere. What we have is good enough, just take good care of them.

Go watch Simpsons, the Movie. What we do not need is a spider pig to amuse us and doughnuts to cause us to lose our sense of responsibility to ourselves, our families and our community. Sometimes, it may take a disaster or a near-disaster to make us value what we do have. It is best to avoid disasters by learning to value what we already have. Learning takes place in many ways. The important thing is to learn from what we have not done right and show it through our attitude and deeds in future.