Stern actions needed to stop wanton disposal of plastic wastes in St Martin's

Saint Martin`s is the country`s only coral island.
Saint Martin`s is the country`s only coral island.

The Saint Martin's is the country's only coral island. It's a tiny island, spanning over 36 square kilometres only. Every tourist knows that throwing plastic here and there is very harmful for the island's biodiversity, but still they do that, not disposing them off at the designated places. 

A number of students of Dhaka University recently collected 120 kilograms of plastic wastes from the island, which were mostly cups, plates and packets of chips. Any sane person would be disgusted at this news.

They took this initiative as part of their 'Go Green' campaign, which was undertaken by the university's Nature Conservation Club. They say 65 per cent of those wastes, which is 78 kilograms, were one-time-use disposable plastic. The rest included water bottles, ropes of nylon, food packets, fishing nets, straws to take coconut water, etc. 

The recommendations they have placed cannot be ignored. They say there are no measures to safeguard the island from this environmental hazard. As a result, everyone, regardless of their educational background, throw them here and there.
Such an initiative by the students is certainly encouraging. But these campaigns are not enough to save the island form big disasters. The administration has to take stern steps in this regard. Students of other educational institutes visiting the island should take similar initiatives. The local people should also be made aware of the dangers of such malpractice. Only then we can save the island.