Single use disposable plastics at gurdwaras

Any idea how many single use disposable plastics are used at gurdwaras? JESPAL SINGH SIDHU hazards a guess. You may be in for a surprise.

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Plastics: They are killing sea’s life – Sketch by Luz DeGas
By Jespal Singh Sidhu | ENVIRONMENT |

SUDP. Ahhh, what is that? Worry not, it is not a swear word. It stands for single use disposable plastics – i.e. plastics spoons, plastic plates, plastics bowls, plastic food packing used for bread, meat etc.

What has it got to do with our gurdwaras? I would say plenty based on my observation over the years and till today.

At every major function in any gurdwara in Malaysia, a whole lot of extra food is ordered over and above the already extravagant langar (communal serving of food) prepared at the kitchens of the gurdwaras. These extras could be anything from fried mamak mee, local kuihs, eggless cakes, fried samosas, cha kuih, ice-kacang, cendol, rojak, golgappe, chats, ice-cream, soya bean curd and drink, vegetarian burgers. The list goes on and on……….. Is this really necessary? Is it not the concept of langar being simple, hearty, nourishing meals? Well on special functions exquisite dishes are prepared so is this not adequate? This is a topic that can be debated till the cows come home but it is not the focus of this article though it can be food for thought.

All these extra dishes are usually prepared on the spot and the vendors as per their normal
takeaway style serve them on plastic and sometimes (based on observation as of late last year) even styrofoam despite being ban from use. Do our Sikh sanggat say anything about these practices? Do the committees of our gurdwaras inform these vendors that we have our own cutlery and crockery (although most gurdwaras use stainless steel plates) which can be used. I have observed and commented in many gurdwaras but non take heed of this.

SEE ALSO: Gurdwara food waste goes upcycle! Kuala Lumpur shows the way

These plastic plates, bowls, spoons forks cups are all under the SUDP category. Can they be recycled? Yes, if these are washed to remove residue oil and food remains. Is this being done? No! Will recycling companies do it? No, because these are extremely light in terms of weight so it is not worth the effort, time, energy and resources to clean them. Where will these SUDP items end up? Sad to say they will end up at landfills and remain there to be broken down into micro and nano plastics over the years that will end up in our water ways, our seas, oceans and in marine life too.

Let’s put on our thinking caps and turbans and imagine over a three day Vaisakhi akhand  path period where there could be some special extra food items ordered for breakfast, lunch and dinner:

  1. if for every meal about 500 plastic plates are used to place roti canai and/or
    tosai and /or mee goreng / rojak or other items
  2. if 500 plastic bowls are used for chendol / ice-kacang for a single meal
  3. if 500 plastic cups are used for the soya bean drinks and/or milo or other drinks
    over a period of a day.

at one gurdwara.

Plastic spoons and forks are given out, too. The above figures are rather conservative but they are enough to give us a perspective as to the amount of plastic our gurdwaras dispose of to the landfills over one three day function.

For calculation purposes we shall assume that these SUDP plates, bowls, cutlery and cups are used on the first day for one meal and maybe some individually plastic wrapped or packed cakes and kuihs for tea time which we will not even take into account. On the second day we shall also assume that these SUDP items are used for two meals and on the final day for one meal hence giving us a grand total of four meals over a period of three days.

This allows us to do some simple calculations:

1. For each meal about five hundred plates/bowls (here we combine the plates and bowls)
and plastics spoons are consumed hence this is a conservative figure. Now as mentioned
above for a total of four meals over the three day period the total amount of SUDP
disposed to the landfills would be:-

a. 2,000 plates/bowls
b. 2,000 spoons/forks
c. 1,500 plastic cups

on average per gurdwara per three day function.

2. Figure of from worldgurdawaras.com state that there are 119 gurdwaras in Malaysia (Peninsular and East Malaysia). For us to comprehend the extent of plastic that ends up at the landfill we shall take a conservative figure of 50% which can be rounded off to sixty gurdwaras that will have functions for Vaisakhi.

3. Granted that some might have more (sanggat) people and some less but for ease of calculation we shall use the above figures. Based on the above listed averages multiplied by sixty gurdwaras results in alarming, jaw dropping figures:

a. 120,000 plastic plates/bowls
b. 120,000 plastic spoons/forks
c. 90,000 plastics cups

are used and disposed to the landfills by us the Sikhs over a period of two weeks (some gurdwaras have their Vaisakhi functions on slightly different dates) in Malaysia. Imagine if all these SUDP items are piled up together? How big of a pile will this be?

Shall we put these figures in terms of weight? We can make the assumption that a plastic plate/bowl is about twenty five grams, the plastic spoon/fork is about five grams and the plastic cup is also 5 grams. This in total amounts to 4,050 kilograms or 4.05 metric tons. Shocking figures indeed!!! This is only for one three day function and the calculations are made using extremely conservative figures.

We also have the gurpurabs and other functions through the year. There is also the other 59 gurdwaras which we have not taken into account which might contribute a lesser amount but it is still SUDP and it will still end up at the landfills.

What can we do about it? We are coming to the end of 2020 which has indeed been a challenging year. We are heading into 2021. Gurdwaras will have some functions in order to welcome the New Year. Can we ensure that for this function no SUDP are used or disposed? Some might say that because of the pandemic it is considered hygienic to use and throw but washing the stainless steel plates and cups with detergents and water does destroy the virus. Can we see strong commitment in our gurdwaras to completely stop the use of SUDP? Tzi Chi, a Taiwanese foundation which has it largest following out of Taiwan in Malaysia can do it. I am sure our Malaysian gurdwaras can also strive not to use any SUDP within their premise.

This article is written by the author to urge our Sikh sanggat to reduce and eventually stop their use of SUDP and to inspire their respective gurdwaras to do the same. It is also aimed to directly inspire gurdwaras committees to be more environmentally conscious and to kick start a movement to reduce and eventually stop the usage of SUDP at all Malaysians gurdwaras.

#SDG12 #SDG14 #reducecarbonfootprint #SDG2030 #reduceplasticwaste

Jespal Singh Sidhu, a real estate negotiator and an avid gardener, produces compost on a commercial scale for farms, fruit orchards and home gardening enthusiasts. He is also a certified HRDF trainer and conducts trainings and seminars on sustainability, waste management, separation at source organic waste management and environmental related topics. He is available to guide Gurdwaras to reduce carbon footprint in line with the SDG agenda. He can be contacted at compost.sprout@gmail.com

 

RELATED STORY:

Want not waste not – Responsible consumption and production (Asia Samachar, 11 Dec 2020)

Gurdwara food waste goes upcycle! Kuala Lumpur shows the way (Asia Samachar, 24 Nov 2020)

 

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