Expert wants books covered in paper, not plastic
- Source: Global Times
- [08:29 September 02 2010]
- Comments
A sign hangs from a shop in Huangpu district Wednesday reads, "New arrival of plastic book covers." Photo: Cai Xianmin
By Chen Xiaoru
An expert behind the move to ban the use of plastic bags in the city expressed concern Wednesday over the use of plastic book protectors, calling on students to turn to recyclable paper products to wrap their textbooks as the new school semester starts today.
Sun Haozhan, who studies the plastics industry at Shanghai Light Industry Science and Technology Institute, said that students can help the environment by switching to environmentally friendly materials when wrapping their books.
"Plastic book covers can't be recycled, which adds to environmental burdens," he told the Global Times Wednesday. "The problem is magnified by the large number of students who use them every semester."
With some 1.28 million elementary, primary and high school students in the city, some 6.4 million plastic book covers could be saved if students use other things to protect five textbooks each instead.
Experts suggest students use paper products or recycled materials to cover their books, such as old newspapers.
The call for a smarter approach to book covering comes as students rush to stores to buy plastic book covers for the school year. According to a sales assistant at a store on Fuzhou Road in Huangpu district, the items are a hot sell.
"We only sell plastic ones because students don't like the paper ones," the sales assistant surnamed Zhao told the Global Times Wednesday. "We've been selling about 1,000 every day."
Meanwhile, Liu Ling, a member of the Plastics Recycling Committee of the China Plastics Industry Association, said that local schools should prohibit students from using plastic book covers, a move that some Beijing schools have started this year.
Wang Xin, a press officer from the Shanghai Municipal Education Commission, however, said Wednesday that the reality of the situation is that the free market leaves the option open to students, and is beyond their control.
For Fan Zhiqiang, a Grade 6 student at Ying Changqi School, plastic book covers are best.
"The plastic ones have cool designs on them, and they're more durable than paper ones," she told the Global Times Wednesday. "Plus, they're not at all expensive."
