DRIVEN BY PIETY

... A devotee carrying a ‘paal kodam’ (milk pot) approaches the 272 steps to the Sri Subramaniar Temple in Batu Caves, Selangor yesterday, ahead of the Thaipusam festival on Saturday.

GEORGE TOWN: The Consumers Association of Penang and Sahabat Alam Malaysia have urged organisers to make this year’s Thaipusam a plastic-free celebration.

N.V. Subbarow, who is senior education officer for both organisations, urged the management of all Hindu temples to ban polystyrene containers when serving food in their premises.

It is a custom for charity organisations to provide free food to devotees who show up at the temples for the various ceremonies.

Polystyrene plates and cups are widely used during the celebrations as it is a convenient way to serve food to the thousands of devotees.

“This is one way to curb our dependence on plastics.

Polystyrene is not recyclable,”

Subbarow pointed out.

He said shops selling sweets and prayer items should also refrain from giving out plastic bags, adding that plastics and polystyrene end up contributing to a large amount of garbage.

“Many people are unaware that polystyrene takes about 500 years to degrade,” he said in a statement.

Subbarow also noted that polystyrene packaging also contains residual styrene, a chemical that could seep into the food that could cause numerous types of health problems.

He added that the temples could switch to plates and cups made of biodegradable materials which were safer.