I just read this article about Togo banning plastic bags. All I could think is what would Burkina look like if this same ban was in place?
Picture taken just after the vendors from the Yako market packed up for the day.
And then I thought of this...
Although you can buy bottled water in Yako it's far more common to buy a small bag of water. 250ml & 500ml 'sachets' are the way to go for clean, cold, water. The bags are not practical for carrying in your purse, but when it's hot you don't want to carry anyway: just find a child pushing a trolley and hand over 10cents.
You drink by biting a corner and sucking quickly. If you buy a couple you can squirt the water into a plastic bottle and carry it with you.
And then you drop the plastic bag on the ground.
Crazy right? The first time someone told me to dispose of my garbage this way I panicked. What about the environment? I couldn't litter. And then I discovered I could. And I did.
And sometimes I feel bad admitting that I contributed to the plastic mess that you find on the street. And then I wonder if I go back if I'll do it differently, and I have no answer.
So what happens to the plastic bags?
Kids find them, blow them up and then wrap the broken corner around and around so the air doesn't leak out. Then they put it down again. Sometimes they jump on them and sometimes they leave them for a car to run over. Either way I think of it like Yako style bubble wrap. The satisfaction you get from popping bubble wrap is a little like what the kids get from popping bags.
Although sometimes I think they do it just to see the Nasara jump out of her shoes.
The noise can be quite startling.
Although you can buy bottled water in Yako it's far more common to buy a small bag of water. 250ml & 500ml 'sachets' are the way to go for clean, cold, water. The bags are not practical for carrying in your purse, but when it's hot you don't want to carry anyway: just find a child pushing a trolley and hand over 10cents.
You drink by biting a corner and sucking quickly. If you buy a couple you can squirt the water into a plastic bottle and carry it with you.
And then you drop the plastic bag on the ground.
Crazy right? The first time someone told me to dispose of my garbage this way I panicked. What about the environment? I couldn't litter. And then I discovered I could. And I did.
And sometimes I feel bad admitting that I contributed to the plastic mess that you find on the street. And then I wonder if I go back if I'll do it differently, and I have no answer.
So what happens to the plastic bags?
Kids find them, blow them up and then wrap the broken corner around and around so the air doesn't leak out. Then they put it down again. Sometimes they jump on them and sometimes they leave them for a car to run over. Either way I think of it like Yako style bubble wrap. The satisfaction you get from popping bubble wrap is a little like what the kids get from popping bags.
Although sometimes I think they do it just to see the Nasara jump out of her shoes.
The noise can be quite startling.
2 comments:
I LOVE the image of the kids trying to get the Nasara to jump out of her skin. THere is no political correctness in Burkina and I find it refreshing and amusing.
i enjoy your blog : )
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