I REFER to the letter on the polystyrene ban by Universiti Sains Malaysia (”Others should follow suit” - NST, Jan 14) by Dionysius S.K. Sharma. I would like to take the opportunity to clarify some of the issues Dionysius raised.

USM has taken what is seen to be an environmental-friendly step, especially in the eyes of the public and activists.

The consumption of polystyrene foam products has been steadily increasing in Malaysia, with more than 20 foam boxes being used every second each day during the lunch hour.

Polystyrene is a versatile plastic and a little known fact about polystyrene foam is that it is 100 per cent recyclable. The manufacturing facility, in the company I work for, recycles several tonnes each day to be made back into polystyrene resin.

Furthermore, polystyrene foam has been certified to be food-grade material, and is, therefore, free of carcinogenic compounds. If it did contain these compounds, it would never have been approved to contain hot food for human consumption.

If we are talking about taking initiative, a lot comes down to individual over corporate responsibility.

I cannot recall the number of times I have seen drivers and their passengers throw rubbish indiscriminately out of their windows. Also, aluminium cans are seen to be environmental-friendly, although they, too, can presumably sit on a landfill and not decompose for “1,000 years”, but they do not bear the same stigma as foam containers.

We export huge amounts of foam products to countries such as Australia and New Zealand and anyone who has been to these countries cannot deny the widespread use of foam lunch boxes.

But how do these countries deal with the problem of waste? It comes down to mentality. People must learn to dispose of rubbish sensibly, as even biodegradable plastics can cause a substantial amount of land pollution, resulting from improper disposal.

As society evolves, manufacturing evolves with it. My company is sourcing for renewable, biodegradable materials for our plastic containers for a more eco-friendly future.

I have great admiration for organisations like the Worldwide Fund for Nature. I hope they will make an effort to work with companies like mine to strive for a better future.

DOUGLAS TAN, Kuala Lumpur

Source: NST – January 17, 2008