5 min at Aason

Friday 9.00 AM-9:05 AM- 14th Jan,2011

Today is the first day celebration of the “Visit Nepal Year 2011”. Everyone is attracted to the celebration events going on at Dashrath stadium. But I decided to have a look at the preparation of the local people here. So here is what I saw.

Aason is busy as usual. Some people are moving to their office carrying their office bag, I couldn’t see many a students, because there is a public holiday for the celebration. Many people are busy on shopping, especially on vegetables shopping.

Plastic Bag!!!

Almost all people who were purchasing vegetables, were using plastic bag to carry the vegetables back to their home. Those who were buying kitchen items, incense, cosmetics, spices etc were also carrying plastic bag. So it seemed as if plastic bag is compulsory for shopping.

What I Inferred

From the 5 min view of the habit of people, I came to conclude that plastic bag has became an integral part of our shopping habit.

Why is this a harmful habit

Compared to other substances like glass and metal; plastic has a very limited and of course lengthy process for recycling. Plastic bags are not bio-degradable, means they don’t decompose in the soil. However there are a number of other ways that plastic can be processed. But the problem is that plastic bag also contains additional materials apart from plastic polymers; like dye. The manufacturers often use these type of materials so that the production cost of plastic goes down dramatically.

So, processing plastic becomes a very expensive process. Of course there are also cheap methods for plastic processing, but they tend to produce a lot of environmental hazards. In short, using plastic is very easy but disposing it is a great challenge.

What now

Of course I won’t recommend the ban in plastic bag. There are a lot of recent developments in the plastic industry that makes plastic bag environment friendly, but they are much expensive.

So the best solution would be to limit the use of plastic. It would be extremely good if we could remove the habit of “plastic shopping”. However for now, here are some simple tips we could follow:

1> There might be some old shopping bag in our home just lying there to be thrown; made up of jute or fabric or other materials other than plastic polymer. If we got one, then why not carry them for carrying vegetables?

2> We should avoid using plastic when there is a cheap alternative. Suppose there are paper and plastic packaging of a same product, you could opt paper package rather than plastic, given the cost has a minimal variation.

3> Even if we don’t have alternative bag at home, there could be some plastic bag lying somewhere. We could carry that for our shopping, until the bag is torn. That way we could re-use the same plastic bag again and again.

4> Ok, lets say we don’t have any bag with us but has to purchase many things right now. So what we could do is, use a single bag for carrying many items, as far as the bag can handle.

5> And remember, the torn bags can be recycled in other forms as well, like making dolls out of it, and so on…

6> And not to forget the ultimate solution, to discard the plastic bag forever.

Why is this important

The culture and civilization of a place is reflected through the habit and thinking of the people living there. The utmost problem that almost all the cities of Nepal is facing are – road management and garbage management. I would write about the road (traffic) management some other day. But for the time being, lets consider the wastage.

The everyday garbage of Kathmandu consists of about 60% kitchen wastages (degradable), 20% plastic items and remaining are rest of the materials. So what we can do is, use the degradable (kitchen waste) for compost manure inside our home and minimize the plastic waste. If we could only manage to do these 2 things, we would not be hearing budget allocation on waste management anymore in near future. Can you imagine how would the city look then?

Lets promote the Visit Nepal 2011 Year

We are welcoming 10 lakhs tourist this year. Are they coming here to see the “wastage mountains”? Are we calling this event the “Dumping site tourism?” No…

Lets not forget that 10 lakh people are coming to see us, to see our culture, our thinking, our tradition and of course our environment and nature. So we should not let go this golden opportunity from our hand. Lets make our home clean, our society cleaner and our environment safe.

So, the next time you are going to shop, keep your environment in mind………………..

 

-Ramesh Parajuli

Extending the use of toothpaste

Toothpaste: what’s your perception about it. Simply use it for brushing the teeth????

Toothpaste is not only tooth cleaner, rather it whitens, brightens, deodorizes, removes stains, and restores and protects enamel. Toothpaste's cleaning capabilities also work wonderfully on many things besides our teeth. The same ingredients that help polish our pearly whites can also soothe some common ailments, make household items sparkle, and even get rid of stains and pungent smells.

Try out these fifteen tricks with a white, non-gel toothpaste (unless otherwise noted), and watch that cavity-fighting, breath-freshening tube of wonder, work its magic.

1. Relieve irritation from bug bites, sores, and blisters: These skin irritations all tend to weep and, in the case of bug bites, often itch. Apply a drop of toothpaste to a bug bite or insect sting to stop the itching and decrease any swelling. When applied to sores or blisters, it dries them up, thus allowing the wound to heal faster. It's best when used overnight.

2. Soothe a stinging burn: For minor burns that don’t involve an open wound, toothpaste can deliver temporary cooling relief. Apply it delicately to the affected area immediately after a burn develops; it temporarily relieves the sting and prevents the wound from weeping or opening.

3. Decrease the size of a facial blemish: Want to speed up the healing of a zit? Apply a tiny dot of toothpaste to the affected area at night before bed. Wash it off in the morning.

4. Clean up your fingernails: Our teeth are made of enamel, and toothpaste is good for them, so it stands to reason that toothpaste would also be good for our fingernails.For cleaner, shinier, and stronger nails, simply scrub the underneath and tops of fingernails with a toothbrush and toothpaste.

5. Keep hair in place: Gel toothpastes contain the same water-soluble polymers that many hair gels are made of. If you are looking to style and hold an extreme hair creation, try gel toothpaste as your go-to product if you are out of regular hair gel. (This is also a great trick for making baby barrettes stay in place.)

6. Scrub away stinky smells: Garlic, fish, onion, and other pungent foods can permeate the skin cells on our hands. Scrubbing hands and fingertips briefly with toothpaste removes all traces of smelly odors.

7. Remove stains: Toothpaste can make tough stains on both clothing and carpets disappear. For clothes, apply toothpaste directly to the stain and rub briskly until the spot is gone, then wash as usual. (Note that using a whitening toothpaste on colors can sometimes bleach the fabric.) For carpet stains, apply toothpaste to the stain and scrub it with an abrasive brush, then rinse immediately.

8. Spruce up dirty shoes: This tactic works great on running shoes or scuffed-up leather shoes. As with carpet stains, apply toothpaste directly to the dirty or scuffed area, then scrub with a brush and wipe clean.

9. Remove crayon stains on painted walls: Rub a damp cloth with toothpaste gently on the marked-up wall and watch the Crayon marks disappear.

10. Make silver jewelry and other silver pieces sparkle: Rub toothpaste onto jewelry and leave overnight. Wipe clean with a soft cloth in the morning. Make diamonds shine by giving them a gentle scrub using a toothbrush, toothpaste, and a little water. Rinse thoroughly to remove all traces of toothpaste. Do not use this method on pearls, as it will damage their finish.

11. Remove scratches on DVDs and CDs. This remedy has been used with mixed success rates, but it seems to work fairly well on shallow scratches and smudges. Apply a thin coating of toothpaste to the disc and rub gently, then rinse clean.

12. Tidy up piano keys before tickling them: Piano keys retain oil from the skin, which then attracts dust and dirt. Clean away grime gently with a damp, lint-free cloth and toothpaste; after rubbing in the toothpaste, wipe the keys clean with a second lint-free cloth.

13. Deodorize baby bottles: If baby bottles develop a sour-milk smell, a good cleaning with some toothpaste and a bottle scrubber will clean away residue and deodorize. Always make sure to rinse well.

14. Remove the burned crust on irons: For those of you who still use an iron, you may find that after time, the plate of the iron develops a burned crust. The silica in toothpaste gently grinds away this rusty-looking layer.

15. Defog goggles: Scuba divers, swimmers, and athletes may already know about this handy little trick. Rub a small spot of toothpaste into each lens of your goggles, then rinse thoroughly, and voila! There'll be no need to ever buy expensive defogger gels again. Avoid rubbing too vigorously, though, as the abrasive ingredients in toothpaste could scratch the lenses.

Hope some of these tricks may help you,,,

Have a good day