Sale of plastic national flags continues

Even as awareness programmes are being held all over the state towards a plastic-free campus in educational institutions and public places, the sale of plastic national flags as part of Independence Day continues unhindered. In a shop at Sultanpet here plastic flags are sold for Rs 2 and Rs 5. For the Rs 2 flag, even the holder of the flag is plastic which is non-degradable.“The flags are being supplied from Ernakulam. Since it is monsoon, if the flags are made with paper, they will get damaged. There is enough demand for the plastic ones,” a shopkeeper says.“Plastic flags posses all the negative characteristics of a synthetic material. The annual use of plastic carry bags all over the world is estimated to be one trillion. Moreover, apart from the fact that the non-degradable plastic prevents water from seeping into the soil, it also results in choking drains and wetlands,” Jana Jagratha secretary and environmentalist P S Panicker has said.